MARIETTA, Ga. - Why is branching still king? Because not only are branches a primary way members measure convenience, but they should also be one of your best marketing tools.

With declining net interest margins, rising operating expenses and unprecedented merger and acquisition activity, credit unions face a challenging landscape to remain competitive.

PITTSBURGH - Credit unions talk about "marketing on a shoestring," but can branch expansion be done on a shoestring?

ST. LOUIS - The economy isn't the only thing that's cyclical: credit union branching should be, too.

First Keystone Corp. in Berwick, Pa., said Friday that it has a deal to buy the $133.6 million-asset Pocono Community Bank in Stroudsburg for about $33.6 million in cash and stock.

Mid-Wisconsin Financial Services Inc. of Medford said it would take an after-tax charge of 22 cents a share this quarter, because of bad loans.

Even bank trade groups concede that a bill being proposed in New York to tax federally charted credit unions could not override a federal law granting the tax exemption.

For more information on this data, visit Novantas LLC and Market Rates Insight.

The tornado that destroyed most of Greensburg, Kan., last week also leveled two of the town's three bank branches.

San Antonio postal workers who deliver mail to USAA Federal Savings Bank are carrying lighter loads these days.

MIDWEST

BancTrust Financial Group Inc. in Alabama entered Florida in 2002 to take advantage of booming growth there, and for more than two years the Florida operation drove its profits.

Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. of Waycross, Ga., plans to convert from a mutual holding company structure to a fully public company.

When bankers sought to recover costs associated with the 2004 data breach at BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., they pinned their case on a breach of contract argument.

Columbia Bancorp in The Dalles, Ore., said it would charge off $2.1 million this quarter because of a bad loan to a potato farmer.

Center Bancorp Inc. in Union, N.J., announced Monday that it has hired an investment bank to help it review its strategic options, including a possible sale.

Irwin Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ind., reported a first-quarter loss Monday of $10.1 million, or 36 cents per diluted share, compared with a loss of $1.9 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier.

Amcore Financial Inc. of Rockford, Ill., is looking to two executives it hired last month to help it make the most of the branch building it has done over the past few years.

The $4.3 billion-asset Sterling Bancshares of Houston said Friday it has a deal to buy MBM Advisors Inc., a Houston investment firm that manages about $700 million of assets.