Straight to The Point: March 23

Good morning and welcome to another Friday. No votes are expected in the House or Senate today. The Legislature is adjourned until Monday. Congress passed their omnibus spending bill yesterday, and as CUNA reports, the bill contains victories for credit unions. In particular, the legislation funds the CDFI Fund and prevents the Justice Department from prosecuting the medical marijuana business in states where it is legal. In other news…

 Registration is open for the New York Credit Union Association’s 2018 Collections & Bankruptcy Conference – NYCUA

 Municipal CU Board of Directors Second Vice Chair Loretta Y. Jones, was recently recognized for her career success and commitment to service at the 2017 Power Women in Business Awards – The Point

 Nominations are being accepted for the New York Credit Union Association’s board of directors and for positions on the chapter leadership councils. Nominations will remain open until April 11, 2018 – The Point

 Amazon is investing in debit cards that parents can use to teach their children financial lessons – CUToday

 A group of fraudsters stole more than $1 million in car loans and $1.5 million in home equity lines of credit from a number of northeast credit unions – CU Times

 Starter homes have become scarcer, pricier, smaller, older and more likely in need of some repairs than they were six years ago – Bloomberg

 The Government Accountability Office released a report suggesting that the Community Reinvestment Act framework be extended to credit unions – ABA Banking Journal

 The U.S. Treasury Department revealed it could add cryptocurrency addresses to its list of sanctions if it’s able to link the cryptocurrency addresses with people who are blacklisted – PYMNTS

 Facebook and the Fed are making headlines alongside the elephant in the room that is the budget bill – New York State of Mind