ARLINGTON, Va. -- Improved CU credit card performance appears to be the trend, undercutting the market for CU card portfolios, according to analyses of NCUA first quarter 2008 data....

DENVER -- Against a backdrop of economic troubles and long-term sustainability, management and boards of credit unions, both big and small, are now more open than ever about discussing consolidations, according to a top merger consultant....

WASHINGTON -- While Michael Fryzel is finally going to get a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NCUA Board chairman, partisan election-year partisan politics could prevent him from actually getting on the board....

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Earlier this year, the $2 billion Coastal Federal Credit Union, once again, found itself nearing its member business lending cap....

MONTVALE, N.J. -- Paragon Federal Credit Union, hoping that CU members will want to surf the Facebook and MySpace tide, said it will boot up a social networking site....

MADISON, Wis. -- A marriage between 401(k) plans and credit unions with business members is one that CUNA Mutual Group is aiming to consummate....

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Nearly six months into its conservatorship, Cal State 9 Credit Union of Concord, Calif., will be absorbed by $4.2 billion Patelco Credit Union of San Francisco....

WASHINGTON -- Citing a desire to return to his teaching position at Columbia University's Graduate School Business, Federal Reserve Board Governor Frederic S. Mishkin announced late last month that he will leave his position as of Aug. 31....

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Robert Hoel, the retired head of the Filene Research Institute, and a former branch of the old Norlarco Credit Union turned out to be the two prime CU victims of the devastating May 22 tornado and hail storm which hit the nearby community of Windsor....

PHOENIX -- Arizona voters have a say in the fight over payday lending this November. But credit unions are mostly on the sidelines, adopting an informal hands-off stance and choosing instead to push for more financial education among the public....

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Fidelity National Information Systems has teamed up with a rival in the credit card portfolio market to offer its client credit unions another avenue to surcharge-free ATM access....

MADISON, Wis.-- In a first, U.S. and Canadian credit union and cooperative officials have joined forces to select the "It Belongs to Me" tagline of International Credit Union Day on October 16 and Co-op Week Oct. 12-18.    ...

WASHINGTON -- Members of eight national and state credit union associations met with members of Congress and their staffs during Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union Hike the Hill on May 13 and 14. ...

MADISON, Wis. -- To further build its retirement planning brand, CUNA Mutual Group said it has some aggressive plans in the works to acquire businesses in the 401(k) provider space....

WASHINGTON -- Visions FCU President/CEO Frank Berrish and Randolph-Brooks FCU President/CEO Randy Smith were elected to three-year terms on NAFCU's board in balloting that ended last month....

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Pacific Service Credit Union here has lowered auto rates and simplified its auto loan program, now allowing qualified borrowers to receive a rate of 5.79% APR for terms up to 66 months, and 6.79% APR for terms 67-84 months....

WASHINGTON -- A loan program designed for small businesses in disadvantaged communities is being referred to the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General for an audit after a number of recent, relatively high credit risks were spotted....

MADISON, Wis. -- The CUNA Chief Financial Officers Council announced its new executive committee and officers during its 14th annual conference and roundtable....

LATHAM, N.Y. -- Effective June 2, the New York State Credit Union League is leading the way for a new brand image....

BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- Bethpage Federal Credit Union, an active partner in the energy conservation campaign Green Levittown spearheaded by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, is talking up the benefits of going green....

WALLINGFORD, Conn. -- Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union has converted its check processing operations to be 100% electronic....

SHREVEPORT, La. -- The African American Credit Union Coalition has three board seats up for election and all of the incumbents are vying for reelection....

DENVER -- A Denver math teacher, Donna Duvall-Serrano, who is nationally acclaimed for founding 24 years ago what is now the nation's largest student-run credit union, is retiring this month....

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- When First Integrity Mortgage of St. Louis faced being orphaned by their sun-setting loan origination system, it went looking for a replacement whose provider reflected its personal service values in addition to helping them stay competitive by keeping costs down....

WHITEHALL, Ohio -- The Ohio Credit Union League's financial education initiative MoneyAndStuff tour recently stopped in the Columbus suburb of Whitehall....

INDIANAPOLIS -- FORUM Credit Union has been recognized by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as one of the best places to work in the state....

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Longtime credit union leader Ruth Kelly has died at the age of 87 from stroke complications.        ...

BOSTON -- Financial institutions need to get their arms around the whole issue of enterprise risk as new channels of both consumer service and criminal activity emerge and mature....

United Educational Credit Union, Battle Creek, Mich., awarded a $400 Bright Ideas Partnership grant to Max Larsen Elementary School. The grant was in support of the fourth and fifth grader's production of "The Jungle Book." The grant was applied for by teacher Steve Ellis. The production was a collaborative effort between three teachers and several local theatre professionals....

Security Service Federal Credit Union, San Antonio, awarded $16,000 in scholarships to high school students in the San Antonio area and Colorado. Scholarship winners were: Laura Hernandez, Noah Pierce, Bethany Fowler, Kate Wiemers, Anthony Fisher and Brandt Zook. Since the scholarship program started in 1990, Security Service has awarded more than $128,000 to 180 college-bound students. Recipients are chosen based on outstanding academic achievement, character and community involvement....

NEW YORK -- The former chair of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has been honored by a think tank that has taken on a leading role in the effort to promote thrift....

ALBURQUEQUE, N.M. -- The credit union industry is mourning former U.S. New Mexico Federal Credit Union President/CEO John Thompson. ...

PLANO, Texas -- Retails sales were up in April, surprising analysts and economy watchers, posting a bump of 0.5% for the month. But that figure didn't include the sales of automobiles, which fell 0.2%, offsetting the 0.2% increase from March....

EVERETT, Wash. -- Educational Community Credit Union and MountainCrest Credit Union, formerly Snohomish County PUD Credit Union, will merge effective May 31....

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Visa Inc. is sending the CEO of an Illinois credit union to the summer Olympics in Beijing, China....

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues have created a partnership with credit union owned software provider EPL and software manufacturer MeridianLink to qualify members for membership, loans and other products using online automated processes....

HOLYOKE, Mass. -- A positive response to the credit crunch combined with adept technology in the back shop is helping Holyoke Credit Union compete and win in what its CEO called a very overbanked market....

DALLAS -- Another credit union with a relatively small card portfolio has opted out of independent issuing and chosen instead to sell its cards to TNB Card Services, the card processing CUSO attached to credit union-owned Town North Bank....

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Barring legal challenges, payday lending will come to an end in Ohio in September of this year....

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Gila Group has been selected by FAIRWINDS Credit Union in Orlando, Fla., to collect on its delinquent accounts....

WASHINGTON -- Because of his independent streak on foreign policy issues, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) often finds himself at odds with those on both sides of aisle....

WASHINGTON -- NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland said the NCUA Board is still deciding whether to require credit unions to disclose additional data on executive compensation....

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A former auditor from Watterson Prime, now owned by Fidelity National Information Services, has charged her former employer with deliberately verifying subprime loans she had kicked back as being bad. ...

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- East Los Angeles residents are learning about credit unions with the opening of the first credit union branch courtesy of E1 Financial Credit Union....

ATLANTA -- SecureWorks is now offering a new service it says allows clients to collect and analyze logs and alerts in real time without having to install specialized software or hardware....

CHATSWORTH, Calif. -- Premier America Credit Union has become the 400th credit union to sign on the provider of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite....

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two credit unions were among the winners of user awards from Allegiance Inc., a provider of enterprise feedback management tools....

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With gas prices skyrocketing to an all-time high what better time to once again promote a Carolina Postal Credit Union hybrid auto loan....

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A March story in The Daytona Beach Journal revealed that AAA, the automobile service company, provides car loans through credit unions, but AAA declined to elaborate on its CU program for Credit Union Times....

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. --The 10th Annual Auto Lending Symposium presented by CUDL, which administers the nation's largest indirect and point-of-sale lending network for credit unions, will take place at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on June 18-20....

First quarter 2008 data from Callahan and Associates clearly shows the downward trend in new auto sales as compared to one year ago, now sinking below 2006 levels. But the sale of used autos has steadily increased over the past three years, a trend auto industry officials expect to continue well into 2008....

WASHINGTON -- Auto loan volume is taking a plunge and the people likely more affected by narrower access to sensible credit--lower-income Americans--are also more likely to be the ones targeted by predatory lenders....

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The merger of Automotive FCU here with MPG Community CU created a community-based credit union with a name that keeps its history intact while giving it mileage for future growth: Community Driven CU....

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. --Even as credit union indirect delinquencies and charge offs for auto loans increased from 2006 to 2007, CUDL's Business Intelligence Report shows that these rates were still far below those suffered by banks and other financials....

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Enterprise Car Sales, which works with credit unions to increase auto loan volume, is offering Kelley Blue Book trade-in value plus $500 for members' and employees' current vehicles during the month of July 2008....

The economic news for the first quarter of 2008 is not encouraging. The subprime mortgage crisis remains prominent, home values continue to trend downward, new housing starts are down, gas prices are soaring, consumer spending is down and consumer confidence is ebbing....

I was disappointed to read Sarah Snell Cooke's column on May 21 concerning AAFES' launch of a credit card through JPMorgan Chase. ...

Credit unions, generally speaking, tend to be fairly conservative in most everything they do. The reasons for this are multifold. They have a fiduciary duty to the members who build the capital in the organization so it can function and continue operating for years to come; they aren't looking to make a quick buck for shareholders. Credit unions can also focus on bettering the financial lives of their members because they are nonprofits....

Homeowner Daniel A. Bailey Jr. recently sent an e-mail about his plight to Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo R. Mozilo among others. Apparently, instead of forwarding his response to a subordinate, Mozilo hit "reply" by mistake.05/19/2008 06:12 AMTo Angelo_Mozilo@countrywide.com Subject Re: bailey acct# XXXXXXX...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Common Wealth Credit Union of Lloydminster, Alberta, added the Marketing Association of Credit Unions' MACQUEE Award to its trophy case at MAC's annual conference award dinner May 22. The $1.6 billion Common Wealth picked up three CUES Golden Mirror awards last week....

The Marketing Association of California drew more than 100 credit union professionals to Newport Beach, California for this year's annual conference and awards ceremony, held May 21-23. Credit Union Times asked attendees the following question: If you were in charge of an industrywide credit union campaign, where would you begin?...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Credit unions that sent marketing directors to the Marketing Association of Credit Unions' annual conference last week may hear a new term come member survey time: net promoter score....

EAST...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Altier Credit Union board, which consists of seven directors, each serving three-year terms, added one new member, Joe Nowaczyk, and re-appointed incumbent Patricia Morcom as chairman....

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- The financial industry has seen various changes as a result of the current economy and the subprime crisis and the latest results of the Credit Union Times online voting poll aimed to see how the economy has impacted business loans in the credit union world....