Ray Birch

FERGUSON, Mo. — Although Alliance Credit Union's luck continues to hold out amid the riots with an office located at the center of the civil unrest here that is undamaged, local residents are far less fortunate.

WASHINGTON — CUNA paid former President and CEO Bill Cheney more than $1.3 million in total compensation in 2013, according to IRS form 990 released by the trade association.

LIVONIA, Mich. — One of the most successful league initiatives in the country, Invest in America, is steering its way along a new course.

FERGUSON, Mo. — All around Alliance Credit Union's office here, businesses have broken windows, knocked-down doors, and one has even been burned to the ground amid the riots that have followed the deadly shooting of a local young black man by a white police officer.

NEW YORK — The U.S. payments system's march toward EMV is gaining steam, according to the Payments Security Task Force.

KENSINGTON, Md. — Lafayette Federal Credit Union has entered into a unique partnership with Hitachi Government Finance to drive the CU's commercial lending.

WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill's interest in the risk-based capital rule — possibly reaching record levels for NCUA's proposed rulemaking — may lead to greater change to the final rule than what the agency has said is coming, according to several Capitol Hill observers.

MADISON, Wis. — Credit unions continued to hand out pay increases to staff members in 2013, and most expect to do the same this year.

LAKE BLUFF, Ill. — The practice of ordering consumer payments from highest to lowest is declining among financial institutions, according to a new study from Moebs Services.

BOSTON — The significant amount of time that consumers spend using mobile applications demands that financial institutions develop new marketing techniques, according to research company Aite Group.

OGDEN, Utah — The thief who allegedly robbed ISU Credit Union at gunpoint last week used a fake bomb to rob a bank Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Although a new Federal Reserve Board study shows that many Americans have recovered from the "Great Recession," a significant number of consumers are still struggling.

NEW YORK — Since his initial look at the risk-based capital proposal at the start of the year, Montauk Credit Union chief executive Louis Jimenez is breathing easier — but only a little.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As the NCUA mulls member business lending risk weights for its final risk-based capital rule, the head of one credit union service organization contends that the agency needs to consider weighting more by product type than percentage of the portfolio.

TAMPA, Fla. — GTE Financial has a new mobile application that lets members save cash, and with a few taps on their smart phones, apply that money to their credit union mortgage or auto loan.

First Commerce Credit Union in Tallahassee, Fla., has agreed to buy First National Bank of Crestview in Florida.

TALLAHASSE, Fla. — Credit unions continue to buy banks, with First Commerce CU here entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with First National Bank of Crestview.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Robert Scott has dedicated much of his life to helping credit union members, serving on Pentagon FCU's board of directors for the last 28 years.

DENVER — The need for more financial institutions to step up and serve the marijuana industry could not be more clear to Michael Elliott.

BENSENVILLE, Ill. — The operations of Bensenville Community CU have been temporarily suspended by the Illinois Division of Financial Institutions.