Unitus Community Credit Union, Portland, Ore., participated in the fifth annual Helping Hands Holiday Toy Day. Unitus has been participating the Toy Day since 2005 and has donated over $1,000 to Helping Hands along with hundreds of brand new toys, and over 75 employee volunteer hours. On Toy Day clients arrive as early as 6:30 a.m. to line up and tour themed rooms at the facility and choose from hundreds of dolls, puzzles, trucks, and games. After shopping, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies were provided by the Unitus cookie oven....

Eight years ago, Ron Daly committed his future to a new idea and a single client. ...

PSCU Financial Services feels so strongly about collaboration within the industry that it has contributed another $50,000 for a total of $100,000 to NACUSO's National Center for Collaboration and Innovation. The center was created in May 2007 to serve as a clearinghouse for collaborative and innovative efforts....

The credit union-sponsored BizKid$ TV show finally went "live" with no less than 279 stations in 43 states signed up to air the pre-taped financial literacy telecast during its first week of national broadcasts in January....

The board of directors of ALPS Federal Credit Union declared a year-end share bonus dividend and loan interest refund for members totaling $89,000....

Goldenwest Credit Union members got a nice holiday bonus at the end of 2007....

For their loyalty and active participation in 2007, American Airlines Federal Credit Union awarded members their share of a $10 million dividend....

The Georgia Credit Union League demonstrated that membership has its rewards as it recently provided a patronage refund to every credit union that attended the 2007 Georgia Credit Union League Annual Convention in Savannah....

The end of the year brought a spate of dividend payouts by North Carolina credit unions including two noteworthy givebacks from two small CUs: a 9% rebate on both loans and deposits from the $8 million North State Telco Credit Union of High Point plus a first-time 4% return by the $19 million Carolina FCU of Cherryville....

The holidays were financially sweeter this year for members of Chattanooga Area Schools Federal Credit Union....

Last year proved to be a record setting one for contributions to the Credit Union Legislative Action Council, CUNA's political action committee. According to Richard Gose, CUNA's senior vice president for political affairs, CULAC brought in more than $2 million....

Desert Schools Federal Credit Union wants to help its members get in touch with their checking style....

Personal Care America Federal Credit Union recently launched three new savings accounts to help members plan for different life events....

It's been nearly a year on the drawing board, but the Arkansas Credit Union League began 2008 with its own indirect lending CUSO aimed directly at attracting new business and members for small credit unions, which are often cut out of the market....

One of the first objectives Bill Beardsley will take on as the new chairman of NACUSO's Business Services Advisory Board is to find out how many business services CUSOs are actually out there....

Organizers of the social network lending pilot launched by British-based Zopa Ltd. said credit unions' role is certain to climb soon, considering the participation of the big Member Gateways consortium of South Bend, Ind. ...

The number of companies sued in securities fraud class action litigation rose 43% between 2006 and 2007 in large part to the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a report from Cornerstone Research and Stanford University....

The National Association of Realtors reported this week that the Pending Home Sales Index of existing sales agreements fell 2.6% in November to 87.6%, ending a slight two-month up tick. The NAR also revised its existing home price estimate for this quarter to a 5.3% year-over-year decline, making for the biggest decline on record. ...

It almost went unnoticed five months ago when the $28 million Desertview Federal Credit Union with a little industry help quietly put together a special $58,000 fund-raiser for the families of the Crandall Mine disaster in this central Utah town of 2,200. ...

When it came to staffing investment and insurance programs at credit unions, Gateway Services Group discovered the search process presented several challenges mainly because of the very specialized requirements the fields demand....

When $3.8 billion Wescom Credit Union reduced staffing by about 10% last month--so soon after news of layoffs at $700 million USA Federal--tongues were wagging about the effect subprime lending might be having on California credit unions....

Sterlent Credit Union here appears to be feeling the bite of the real estate downturn and is losing money, losing members, and may be facing regulatory action....

Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union said it has passed the 1,000 mark in credit union branches the corporate is serving with remote deposit services....

Associated Credit Union has found a new president/CEO from within its ranks. ...

It's homecoming for Redstone Federal Credit Union's new President/CEO Joseph H. Newberry. ...

In 2007, 1,356 CEOs lost their jobs, an 8.3% decrease from the 1,478 CEOs that left their companies in 2006, according to the new CEO Turnover Report from Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. ...

Most of the parties involved continue to be tightlipped as to why Michael Hale unexpectedly left his president/CEO post at Andrews Federal Credit Union on Dec. 19....

After more than 20 years of service with the Florida Credit Union League, president/CEO Guy M. Hood is set to retire from the League in January 2009....

K-25 Federal Credit Union has found its new brand identity by honoring its past....

It comes to political fund raising, Illinois women golfers appear to be showing the way after collecting a record $20,750 from a single, ladies-only golf tournament held by the Illinois Credit Union League....

Another Credit Union has stepped forward to offer its members greater access to nationwide services by expanding its commitment to shared branching. ...

The Bank Secrecy Act appears likely to continue as a source of extra work and anxiety for credit unions in 2008, and legal experts expect its enforcement to steadily tighten as the year goes on....

Credit union association attorneys familiar with membership litigation in the U.S. District Court for Middle Pennsylvania have praised a federal judge who was asked to referee a bank-versus-credit union dispute....

CUNA's "Little Guy" is getting legs beyond the Capitol Beltway....

Even without predatory, subprime loans on their books credit unions aren't immune from the fallout of the subprime mortgage debacle. ...

Mazuma Credit Union was very familiar with the inner workings of payday lending, having partnered with a third-party vendor for nearly four years to offer the loans to its membership....

The $1.9 billion Texans Credit Union, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, was the only financial institution partner to use Gift Card Lab during the holiday season....

The Automotive Avenues Web site at www.autoaves.com has been revamped, according to Aimbridge Lending Solutions....

The Minnesota Credit Union Network welcomed 19 participants to its 2008 Vendor Involvement Program on Jan. 1. ...

Latino Community Credit Union, the $55 million credit union that has made a name for itself serving a primarily Hispanic and immigrant membership since 2000, has taken another step into the credit union mainstream by adding online banking to its Web site (www.cooperativalatina.org)....

Calling public attention to the industry's role in fixing the state's mounting foreclosure problem, the Michigan Credit Union League slated a "Mortgage Crisis Summit" and Webinar last week, inviting leading credit union professionals to voice ideas for tackling the issue....

NASCUS' study of how state-chartered credit unions are serving their members used a carefully drawn up representative sample to include the most accurate data, but on the topic of shared branching participation, the report sowed a little bit of confusion....

Building on what it describes as a strong 2007, the Small Business Administration said more reforms will come in 2008. ...

In what has become a familiar exercise, NAFCU has once again written to the NCUA Board, urging that the agency keep the 18% ceiling on credit union interest rates....

The IRS has published a request for public comment about a potential regulation that could restrict the marketing of so-called Refund Anticipation Loans. Tax preparers offer Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) to allow taxpayers to cash in on a tax refund without having to wait for a refund check from the IRS....

The use of debit cards for government payments is nothing new, but the government's use of prepaid cards took a giant step into the mainstream when the U.S. Government announced it would put millions of Social Security payments on prepaid cards instead of checks....

The Federal Reserve Board named 10 new members to its Consumer Advisory Council for three-year terms and designated a new chair and vice chair of the CAC for 2008....

NCUA has selected Mary Ann Woodson as its new chief financial officer effective Jan. 14, 2008....

Gateway Metro Credit Union, a state-charted credit union since 1935, has made the switch to a federal charter. ...

Persistent thieves are now targeting credit unions in a sophisticated attempt to secure wire transfers from members' home equity line of credit accounts, according to the Credit Union Information Security Professionals Association....

A small credit union serving a community nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville is one of three CUs nationwide beta testing Symitar's mobile banking entry beginning this month....

USERS Inc. is the first credit union core processor and one of only a relative handful worldwide to earn a rigorous software development designation....

LAS VEGAS -- Two more credit unions are now using the KnowledgePortal360 enterprise training solution from TFactor Inc....

Researching and applying for financial products online is still going strong, according to the 2007 North American Technographics Benchmark Survey of 52,000 adults by Forrester Research. The research and advisory firm says credit cards are the dominant financial product sold online, and that overall, online applicants are most often found among key segments like Gen Yers and Gen Xers, longer-tenured online users, and consumers who then conduct transactions online....

Two large Pennsylvania credit unions have signed on with CO-OP Financial Services' CO-OP Network to give their members access to surcharge-free ATMs, CO-OP has announced....

Another credit union has opted to bring its credit card and debit card processing together with the same processor, citing the streamlined card management and improved fraud management that the move provides....

TNB Card Services, the card portfolios purchasing and servicing arm of credit union-owned Town North Bank, has announced the purchase of two more credit union card portfolios....

Could the wave of credit unions selling their card portfolios to banks or CUSO's have crested?...

PSCU Financial Services' 1,100 credit unions will soon be offered mobile banking and payment services they can market to their members....

Dynamic Card Solutions, the company that brought both credit unions and banks the ability to issue cards on-site, has stepped up its hardware to now allow the issuance of personalized cards on-site....

Taking advantage of the current holiday season, NCUA Board Chairman JoAnn Johnson has taken the somewhat unusual step of addressing consumers directly about their use of credit cards and card safety....

The $1.1 billion Community First Credit Union of Florida has rolled out a prepaid card to supplement its financial educational efforts and to allow families to begin giving their teen-aged children greater financial responsibilities....

We expect 2008 to be a year of robust activity in plastics that will include expanded capabilities as well as continued growth for credit unions that wisely choose to invest in their portfolios. As CEOs look for ways to build revenue and reduce expenses, we anticipate greater usage of automated risk-based pricing that takes into account each individual cardholder's actions and relative risk....

With so many challenges facing credit unions in 2008, at America's credit union leagues, we take an activist view. That is: We can't, and won't, sit still....

Earlier this month we saw former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) come out of nowhere to handily win the Iowa Republican caucus, while freshman Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and former Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) both defeated the Clinton machine that previously seemed unstoppable....

"Our economy aided and abetted by Congress, regulators and central bankers is like a Charlie Brown economy. One would think that having learned a painful and costly lesson, we would gain the wisdom to not repeat it. And yet, time and again, we lull ourselves into the false hope that this time it's different, just as Charlie Brown trusted Lucy to not pull the football away at the last minute."...

EAST...

Alta Vista Credit Union is mourning the loss of longtime board member Inez Lopez....

Educator and credit union leader Kenneth J. Marin, a former CUNA chairman, has died....

An article appearing in the Jan. 9, 2008 edition of Credit Union Times on Page 1, entitled, "Study Indicates Community Charters Don't Solve CU Growth Challenges," should have named Mark Weber as head of Weber Marketing Group in Seattle, WA. Weber's first name was reported incorrectly....

O'FALLON, Mo. -- The Missouri Corporate Credit Union found a new board member in Gary Hinrichs, president of $106 million West Community Credit Union in O'Fallon, Mo....

After 38 years, Georgia Federal Credit Union's long-time board member Estelle Harrell has retired....

Community leaders Judy Beebe, Del Cornutt and Joe Phillippay were re-elected to the MaPS board of directors....

Altura Credit Union Board Director Ofelia Valdez-Yeager was recently singled out as the Minority Business Advocate of the Year at the 4th Annual Minority and Small Business Gala and Awards Ceremony of the CHARO Community Development Corporation and its CHARO -- SBA Women's Center....

Unitus Community Credit Union, Portland, Ore., participated in the fifth annual Helping Hands Holiday Toy Day. Unitus has been participating the Toy Day since 2005 and has donated over $1,000 to Helping Hands along with hundreds of brand new toys, and over 75 employee volunteer hours. On Toy Day clients arrive as early as 6:30 a.m. to line up and tour themed rooms at the facility and choose from hundreds of dolls, puzzles, trucks, and games. After shopping, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies were provided by the Unitus cookie oven....