RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- Wescom and other credit unions may have pulled in the reins on indirect auto lending as a membership strategy, but the head of the industry's largest indirect provider said it's not affecting his business much....

MADISON, Wis. -- CUNA Mutual Group has expanded its consumer products group with the hiring of two new executives in an effort to position the business for growth and deepen relationships in the marketplace, the company said....

MADISON, Wis. -- The multi-talented Ben Stein will bring his deadpan delivery to the opening speaker slot at the Credit Union Executives Society's CEO Network 2008 event, scheduled for Nov. 2-5 at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas....

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Two credit union staff will attend this year's Olympics in Beijing as a reward for signing up members for their CU's agent-issued credit cards....

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- CO-OP Financial Services has met its $1 million commitment goal to the Children's Miracle Network's Credit Unions for Kids program a full six months ahead of schedule, CO-OP said....

PEWAUKEE, Wis. -- The Wisconsin Credit Union League Services Corp. announced that it's partnering with Advanced Fraud Solutions....

BALTIMORE -- MECU members who are curious about what their credit union is doing for the community can now just head to YouTube for answers....

LOMBARD, Ill. -- Gerald Hollis Raddon, founder of Raddon Financial Group, died on July 29. He was 72....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Look no further than credit unions for the latest fitness craze....

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- As members of liquidated New London Security Federal Credit Union start to receive their insured share checks in the mail, it appears that there is no connection between the shutdown and the death of an investment broker with ties to the financial institution....

ST. LOUIS -- Philadelphia Federal Credit Union's relationship with Enterprise Car Sales has helped bolster a sag in its auto lending....

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Credit unions across the U.S. that offer excess deposit insurance are enjoying a healthy blip in new business, with many quick to point out the advantage on Web sites and other marketing materials. And American Share Insurance Co. reported last week a big spike in inquiries from CUs interested in private deposit insurance....

MADISON, Wis. -- Credit union membership on planet Earth has reached an all-time high of 177 million, according to World Council of Credit Union's 2007 statistical report....

BOULDER, Colo. -- After experiencing a series of senior executive changes at Altura Credit Union over the past year, Gerry Agnes has left the financial institution to become president/CEO of the $850 million Elevations Credit Union....

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- As incentives for businesses and home seekers to participate in a multimillion dollar neighborhood revitalization project, St. Mary's Bank, the nation's oldest credit union, has dropped its commercial loan rates and raised its lending threshold....

ATLANTA -- Tight margins and a struggling economy have boosted demand for cash management services, which zero in on minimum cash requirements for branch vaults and ATMs....

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- Calling its action a bold step to demonstrate commitment to members amid the current economic downturn, the $150 million Red Rocks Credit Union has lowered rates on its $13 million portfolio of variable-rate loans to reduce the financial burden on members....

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- For 87 years, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association has carried out its mission to protect and improve the retirement benefits of federal retirees, employees and their families....

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- As mobile applications leap forward into the wide world of Web 2.0, the security stakes inevitably get higher, too....

HARBOR, Ore. -- Don't limit your credit union's teen financial literacy efforts to a three-ring binder. Consider hosting a complete Concert for Financial Literacy....

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -- A partnership between Credit Union Mortgage Alliance Network and HomeSold Inc. aims to bring more mortgage resources to credit unions....

NEW YORK -- Credit unions may soon have to start com-...

WASHINGTON -- Some credit union leaders believe the current economic downturn and suffering CUs makes this the best time for credit unions to push for additional sources of capital....

WASHINGTON -- A senior Democratic congressman and CU stalwart running in a heavily Democratic district in a year that is supposed to be a banner one for his party is facing a tough challenge....

BOSTON -- The U.S. Justice Department has indicted 11 people for their alleged roles in some of the card data breaches that have cost credit unions the most....

BRIDGETON, Mo. -- Christopher Ford said what he thought would be 10 weeks of mundane filing and cold calling actually turned out to be a real-world learning experience during a summer internship at Vantage Credit Union....

PASADENA, Calif. -- Wescom Credit Union will close 11 branches, eliminate 100 operational positions and discontinue most Sunday branch hours as part of the $3.8 billion credit union's strategy to weather Southern California's economic struggles, said President/CEO Darren Williams....

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- Jay R. Murray began his term as president/CEO of Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union, effective Aug. 1....

BOULDER, Colo. -- Elevations Credit Union has opened its second Longmont branch....

WASHINGTON -- NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel is scheduled to talk to state regulators in his first speech since taking office....

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Credit Union Information Security Professionals Association is offering a free multifactor authentication solution to all its members and any credit union under $250 million in assets....

NORWALK, Conn. -- The Internet may have created a way for credit unions to be more relevant and convenient to members, but it has also created an infinite venue for identity thieves, fraud and scams....

ATLANTA -- Now, it's not a question of whether the bad guys got the goods, it's when they get around to using them....

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, and one of the hardest to recover from. Each of us have only one identity, and once it's been stolen, it's a long and arduous battle back to good credit....

ATLANTA -- After a lull in March, the hackers and attackers apparently got back to work in greater numbers as spring wore on, according to SecureWorks. The company's monitors said they detected 55,590 virus, Trojan, phishing and other attacks from 2,145 separate sources in May, up from 35,937 and 1,297, respectively, in May. SecureWorks (www.secureworks.com) is a provider of internet security services whose client base includes approximately 550 credit unions....

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- This past March marked the first year of back office conversion (BOC) process coding from NACHA--the Electronic Payments Association. According to a report from TowerGroup (www.towergroup.com), BOC has had the slowest uptake of all the standard entry class (SEC) codes released by NACHA since 2000. The TowerGroup report said that while NACHA originally envisioned BOC replacing point of purchase (POP) processing, it now sees those check conversion options growing "in parallel," driven by declining check volume and increasing debit card adoption. Those two factors will limit the "window of opportunity for a retailer to have a solid business case to implement any check conversion process."...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Secure Identity Systems is now offering anti-phishing services that it says also helps clients fulfill the Red Flag regulatory requirements that take effect Nov. 1....

A few weeks ago, the American economy was hit by the news that home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas had dropped more than 15% in May from the previous year, the biggest decline on record. The Case-Shiller indexes that show the annual declines in home prices across the U.S. generally continued to get worse....

Despite the expectation on my part for the August doldrums, the credit union community has been busy making news. In acknowledgement of all the goings-on, I'll address several issues in this column....

Your article "PSECU Member Objects to 10-Year Auto Loan, Calling It Predatory," (CU Times, July 23) brought up several troubling aspects related to this credit union's product offerings, member relations and public relations function. PSECU member Oren Spiegler has a very valid point in contending that the product is designed to provide vehicles to those who cannot afford them. If it takes a member 10 years to pay off a $44,000 auto loan, what does that say about a member's income?...

Credit Union Times has a goal for 2008 to include Letters to the Editor in nearly every, if not all, issues. We had letters in nearly every issue of 2007....

One of the great tools Credit Union Times offers on our Web site is the Vendor and Association Calendar....

EASTDutch Point Credit Union, Wethersfield, Conn., announced the hiring of Chad Dalles as vice president of branch/business development. Dalles has many years of credit union, finance and banking experience....

LAS VEGAS -- With a reputation for operating a tight ship, Tom Smigielski, the retired president/CEO of Pacific Service Credit Union in California, felt safe in offering CU directors here a bit of advice last week: Encourage good ideas from top managers. But, in following up, make sure those ideas pass a three-pronged test: Do members want the product or service? Is the CU capable of providing the offering? And, will it make money?...

LAS VEGAS -- The impending furloughing of thousands more airline employees slated this fall "creates a huge opportunity for us" to step up and serve financially stressed members, Thomas Glatt, the president/CEO of Continental Federal Credit Union, told CU directors last week....

LAS VEGAS -- Apparently mindful of economic uncertainty facing the industry, credit union directors packed a meeting room at the Venetian Resort and Casino last week to take part in a four-hour educational session on the pros and cons of mergers. Costs, culture change and deal breakers emerged as the hottest topics....

America First Credit Union, Riverton, Utah, held a grand opening for its Riverton Wal-Mart branch. The branch is America First's 78th branch. Don Bartlett has been named the manager of the branch. Bartlett started at the credit union in 1996 as a teller at the Cottonwood branch and has since then served as back-up lead teller, lead teller, assistant manager and most recently as manager of the Orem Wal-Mart branch. The branch held a daily drawing for a $100 Visa gift card and a grand prize drawing for a barbeque grill....