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Serious brains, zero snooze—The Credit Union Connection dishes hot takes on fintech, compliance, strategy, politics & member magic for credit union leaders who get it.

A clean, professional promotional graphic from The Credit Union Connection features Quentrece Smith, SVP of Member Experience at Ascend Federal Credit Union. The Credit Union Connection logo appears prominently in the upper-left corner. On the right, a professional headshot of Smith is displayed inside a large circular frame accented in teal. Below the portrait, the graphic identifies: Quentrece Smith SVP of Member Experience Ascend Federal Credit Union The white background is decorated with glossy teal and orange circular elements that complement The Credit Union Connection’s branding while maintaining a polished, uncluttered appearance. The image conveys themes of credit union leadership, member experience, executive insight, industry expertise, and professional thought leadership.

Youth Financial Literacy: Meeting Young Members Where They Are

Christopher Jones Executive Benefits Consultant and Founder PARC Street Group

Does Your SERP Help Close the Social Security Gap Projected for 2032?

CUC Podcast Sarah Snell Cooke Andy Jannng Overdrawn Documentary Series

Overdrawn: Six Years Later, People Are Still Mad or Silent

A humorous cartoon depicts a credit union CEO job interview with four members of the board of directors interviewing a Black woman for the top executive position. One board member asks the candidate the daunting question: “Can you grow loans, deposits and membership, reduce expenses, modernize technology and keep everyone happy?” The candidate responds with amused skepticism: “Sooo … you have trick questions for the CEO position?” Behind the candidate, a hiring board lists the desired qualifications: Vision, Leadership, Results, Strategy, Technology, People Skills, followed by the tongue-in-cheek requirement “Miracle Worker (Bonus).” The board members display a mixture of serious, concerned and expectant expressions, while the candidate appears confident and good-humored. Credit union signage, a board packet and a “Board of Directors” nameplate establish the executive recruiting setting. The cartoon pokes fun at the increasingly demanding expectations placed on credit union CEOs, who are often expected to simultaneously deliver growth, control expenses, modernize technology, lead employees and satisfy members and boards.

Cartoon Of The Week: The New CEO Interview

CUC Podcast with Dupaco CU and Alkami

Double the Deposit Goals in Half the Time? Yeah, Dupaco Did That.

Seth Perlman, Global Head of Product at i2c

Serving Members Better: How Credit Unions Can Modernize Without Losing What Makes Them Unique

A warm, realistic scene inside Women’s Animal Center highlights dogs and cats waiting for adoption as part of the Clear the Shelters nationwide pet adoption event. Several shelter animals—including an energetic young dog, a relaxed golden-colored dog, and multiple cats—are gathered in a comfortable adoption area. The animals are the main focus of the image, emphasizing the pets that are looking for permanent homes. A sign in the background identifies Women’s Animal Center as a participant in Clear the Shelters and notes support from Inspire Federal Credit Union. The sponsorship is kept secondary to the animals and adoption message. A simple sign in the foreground reads “Every pet deserves a second chance,” reinforcing the purpose of the event. The image conveys themes of pet adoption, animal rescue, shelter animals, second chances, community involvement, Clear the Shelters, and finding loving homes for dogs and cats.

Inspire Federal Credit Union Makes Pet Adoptions Free at Clear the Shelters Event

A realistic outdoor scene shows a herd of goats grazing on dense, overgrown vegetation along a hillside. Several goats are actively eating weeds, vines, brush, and other unwanted plants, demonstrating how targeted grazing can be used as a natural method of vegetation management. The thick greenery surrounding the animals illustrates the type of difficult-to-maintain terrain where goats can be especially useful. A nearby “Goats at Work!” sign explains that the animals are clearing overgrown vegetation as part of a natural land-management effort. The image conveys themes of sustainable landscaping, environmentally friendly vegetation control, targeted grazing, land management, wildfire prevention, reducing overgrowth, and using goats as a natural alternative to mechanical or chemical clearing methods.

This Credit Union Hired Goats to Mow Their Lawn

A warm, community-focused image depicts the Hawai‘i Foodbank distributing nutritious food to local residents. In the center, a smiling volunteer hands an older woman a box filled with fresh produce, canned goods, and other grocery staples. Additional volunteers work in the background organizing and packing food inside a warehouse. A colorful selection of locally familiar fruits and vegetables—including pineapple, bananas, papaya, leafy greens, corn, and sweet potatoes—reinforces the focus on providing nutritious food to families in need. Hawai‘i Foodbank imagery and messaging emphasize fighting hunger, feeding hope, strengthening lives, and nourishing Hawai‘i communities. The image conveys themes of hunger relief, food assistance, volunteering, community service, charitable giving, food security, and neighbors helping neighbors throughout Hawai‘i.

Seven Hawaii Credit Unions Turn Their 90th Birthday Into a $93K Gift for Families in Need

A professional announcement graphic highlights GECU Federal Credit Union receiving regulatory approval to acquire Bank of the Southwest. The headline “Regulatory Approval Granted” appears prominently above the names and logos of the two financial institutions. A large green “Regulatory Approved” seal with a checkmark reinforces the approval milestone. In the foreground, an official-looking approval document sits on a desk alongside a pen, visually representing the regulatory authorization for the acquisition. Additional messaging emphasizes potential benefits of the combination, including stronger membership, expanded services, greater community impact, and continued local commitment. A nearby sign reads “Stronger Together. Greater Value. Brighter Future.” The image conveys themes of credit union growth, bank acquisitions, regulatory approval, financial institution consolidation, expanded member services, and community banking.

GECU Just Got the Green Light to Become a $4.9 Billion Financial Powerhouse

A realistic conference demonstration shows a technology expert presenting a sample credit union database at the International Conference on Very Large Data Bases (VLDB). A large screen demonstrates how natural-language questions can be translated into database queries, allowing users to retrieve useful information from complex financial data without needing to understand the underlying database structure. The live demonstration highlights three key capabilities: resolving ambiguous column names, applying role-based access controls to protect sensitive information, and answering member-centric questions, such as identifying members whose accounts have delinquent loans. The screen shows how an everyday question is converted into SQL, processed against multiple interconnected database tables, and returned as an organized set of results. Security controls demonstrate that users can access only the information authorized for their particular role. A laptop displays the underlying relationships among member, account, and loan data, emphasizing the complexity of extracting information from a database that was never originally designed to answer these types of questions directly. The image conveys themes of AI and natural-language database querying, credit union technology, secure data access, legacy databases, financial data analytics, and turning complex institutional data into actionable insights.

How a Credit Union Data Platform Is Taking AI Context to the Big Leagues

A bright, upbeat image shows a group of excited children inside a credit union, each holding a new tablet as part of a youth savings promotion. A display table is stacked with tablet boxes alongside a sign announcing “500+ Tablets to Kids Who Save Money!” The children smile and celebrate, emphasizing the excitement of being rewarded for developing positive savings habits. Additional signage encourages young members to “Save Today. Earn Tomorrow. Dream Big!” and connects saving money with building a stronger financial future. The image conveys themes of youth financial education, encouraging kids to save, financial literacy, credit union community involvement, rewarding good money habits, and helping young people build brighter financial futures.

This Credit Union Is Giving Away 500+ Tablets to Kids Who Save Money

A dramatic, high-tech image depicts the battle against financial fraud inside a credit union. On the left, a shadowy hooded fraudster launches multiple threats toward the institution, including phishing attempts, account takeovers, identity theft, card fraud, and malware. At the center, a large glowing digital shield labeled “Credit Union Fraud Protection” blocks the attacks. An AI-powered security bot reinforces the shield, representing technology being used to detect and stop fraudulent activity before it reaches members. Digital displays highlight fraud-prevention tools including real-time monitoring, behavioral analytics, machine learning, device intelligence, and velocity checks. Another panel emphasizes that members are being protected. The image conveys themes of fighting fraud, cybersecurity, AI-powered fraud detection, identity protection, real-time monitoring, financial security, and protecting credit union members from increasingly sophisticated threats.

Credit Unions Get a New Weapon in the Fight Against Fraud 

SchoolsFirst FCU_Carol Rose Jim Phillips

SchoolsFirst FCU Shuffles the Deck: Two Execs Level Up to COO and CIO as Credit Union Preps for Growth

DCUC USO Fundraiser Aug 2026

How Defense Credit Unions Just Raised $25K for Military Families (And Hit a Major Milestone)

Ryan Vann Chief Lending Officer PenAir Credit Union

Ryan Vann Steps Up as PenAir Credit Union’s New Chief Lending Officer

A lifestyle photo of a person comfortably using a smartphone in one hand while actively interacting with it.

Tyfone Just Made Digital Banking Actually Smart (And Community Banks Are Here for It)

A polished cinematic corporate-finance image symbolizing a large credit union merger in North Carolina.

Two North Carolina Credit Unions Just Became One Powerhouse

Chris Miller Headshot

Chris Miller Appointed as New CDFI Fund Director: What It Means for Community Development

A conceptual image representing credit union digital currency_ a modern smartphone and secure digital wallet interface beside a small stack of sleek digital currency coins

Credit Unions Push for Clear Rules in New Stablecoin Framework (And Want to Avoid Double the Paperwork)

A professional photorealistic legal-finance still life featuring a polished balance scale of justice beside a wooden judge’s gavel, financial charts, regulatory documents, and a pen.

Federal Agencies Hit the Undo Button on 2022 Credit Program Guidelines

TRUECCU and CUFEN Most Students Reached

TRUE Community Credit Union Wins Three National Awards for Making Finance Less Terrifying

Tucson FCU Local First Arizona podcast

Arizona Credit Unions Team Up to Prove That Banking Local Isn’t Just a Bumper Sticker

A modern, high-tech smartphone mock-up displaying a sleek, clean mobile banking application interface.

Alkami Just Became the Digital Banking Platform Everyone’s Talking About

UFCU_BGC Marion County 2026 Dunk Tank

How a Dunk Tank, $11K, and One Credit Union Made a Splash for Marion County Kids

AACUL Cybersecurity Awareness Toolkit

Credit Unions Get Free Arsenal to Fight Back Against Cybercriminals (Because Scammers Never Take a Day Off)

West Community Credit Union and Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Member Impact Fund

How a Credit Union Just Turned $20K Into Real Change for St. Louis Students and Veterans

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