WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What was the story of the year in 2005? According to respondents of Credit Union Times' expired voting poll on this topic it was the decline in the number of credit unions. The credit union industry is consolidating on many levels, including leagues, corporates, and vendors serving credit unions. Though the number of natural person credit unions continues to decline, total assets are on the rise. The second story, according to voters, was the battle between NCUA and two Texas credit unions that pursued bank charter conversions. Community CU and OmniAmerican CU, both over a billion dollars in assets, were challenged by NCUA for how they disclosed their conversion intentions to members. The case went to court and ultimately the credit unions prevailed. Both have since converted and have made it known they will go stock-owned. The complete poll results are as follows: What was the story of the year in 2005? *The battle between NCUA and Community and OmniAmerican over their conversion to banks

28.31% *Fierce banker attacks, including two pending lawsuits

9.49% *The House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on the tax-exemption

10.51% *The wave of credit card breaches

2.54% *The decline in the number of credit unions

30.68% *The effects of the hurricanes and how credit unions responded

8.98% *The passage of bankruptcy reform

7.97% *Board members calling for greater trade association representation

1.53% Total votes:

590