This week FICOM hosted a conference for BC credit union directors, the sixth such annual event they have mounted. Presentations from commission staff were augmented by a speaker on ‘Building Effective Boards’, Bev Behan. The reporting out on FICOM and CUDIC activity was to be commended and some good questions were raised. And while the […]
Recently, economist Michael Hudson visited Vancouver to speak on the issue of housing and the ‘Junk Economics‘ (the title of his most recent book) behind our apparent good times. The substance of his observations is presented in a readable article in this week’s Common Ground. Hudson spoke at an event sponsored by the Centre For […]
At the recent Central 1 conference and AGM I listened to economists provide updates and, somehow, the growth in inequality got little attention. Although Helmut Pastrick, the Chief Economist at C1, did provide a recent analysis showing the job growth in BC (and Ontario), but he did not observe that it has been where wages […]
Consolidation and cartel building is the long term strategy of the Big Banks and it seems to go on without much alarm. This is partly because of their patience and partly because other players are distracted by other things; technology, risk management, new capital rules, new liquidity monitoring tools, mortgage insurance changes, etc.. But these […]
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”) has created what could be called a mortgage insurance empire. With a book totaling $526B in 2015, that book alone was larger than Canada’s fifth largest bank and exceeds 1/3 the total all outstanding residential mortgages in Canada. This coverage is sold through banks, credit unions and other lenders. […]
Sometimes it seems that credit unions are in denial, or simply averse to exploring some of the larger issues facing our memberships. Working people, most particularly young people, are facing a very different set of challenges when it comes to ‘surviving’. The evolution of work in the ‘contract economy’ has implications when we ask marketing […]
A couple of days ago there was a good piece in Canadian Business. The facts are laid out that Big Bank growth and profits track quite closely with our real estate and debt bubbles. Writer Kevin Carmichael provocatively critiques the Big Banks for their addiction to residential mortgages and their complicity in the two blights […]
I just was recently elected to the board of my credit union, and not for the first time! I have been a member-owner, director, manager, and regulator at various times over the last 40 years. Four years ago I assumed the role of General Manager (I retired last July) and I had a chance to […]
