There were plenty of high-profile merger deals in 2010highlighted by big West Coast combinations accompanied by voluntaryand involuntary consolidations plus conservatorships. All of thisactivity altered the CU landscape, most prominently in the sandstates.

The NCUA's June conservatorship of the failed Arrowhead CentralCU of San Bernardino and Navy Federal's agency-engineered takeoverof USA Fed CU of San Diego occupied industry attention for monthsamid ongoing controversy over management performance.

Meanwhile, there were scores of small- and medium-sized CUmergers, too, across the U.S., some underscoring a new attitude bygraying management and boards toward choosing the most tech- andproduct-savvy CUs to tackle future compliance and assessmentheadaches.