There was some interesting news this week worthy of comment:

-CUNA has renewed CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica's contract. The deal is for up to four years, but either party can terminate the deal with one year's notice. Mica has been good for credit unions. His deep legislative ties and political savvy have helped grow CUNA into the political powerhouse it is today. CUNA CEOs typically wilt out at seven years. Now 11 years in, Mica has crushed that trend and deservingly so. There are too many important political things in play for credit unions to lose a big player like Mica. Of course he has his detractors, but so do all leaders of major credit union organizations. Some early analysts of Mica thought he was a hotshot former Congressman who would stay for a few years and move on to bigger and better things. Mica has certainly shown his dedication to credit unions. He has been through the wars and his long tenure gives him even more credibility with lawmakers.

-Members United Corporate has jumped into the consumer directed health care market with its new CUSO, Members Health Network, LLC. The idea for the CUSO was born out of the corporate's "innovation" team. CUNA Mutual, Filene, leagues and others all now have internal innovation departments that work on ideas submitted from clients and members. Members United hit a homerun on this one. With the problems in health care, more Americans are looking to take control of their health care spending. Health savings accounts are one tool credit unions can offer and the new CUSO helps. I like the idea of credit unions getting into health care solutions because it gives them more clout with small business owners and even smaller SEGs.