ON DEADLINE

WOCCU Program Wins Grant

MADISON, Wis.-The World Council of CUs Inc. (WOCCU) and the Jamaica Cooperative CU League are among 10 microfinance institutions selected to to receive a $45,000 Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge Grant. WOCCU said the funds will be used to implement remittance services through its International Remittance Network (IRnet). According to the two recipients, Jamaicans living abroad during 2001 transferred about US$960 million back to Jamaica.

Corps. Given OK To Merge

ALBANY, N.Y.-Empire Corporate FCU and CorpStar FCU, Sioux Falls, S.D. have received approval from NCUA to merge. The merger is tentatively scheduled to be completed by May 31, 2002. When completed, Empire Corporate will represent approximately $4.7 billion in assets.

Missouri Law Is Passed

JEFFERSON, Mo.-Both houses of the Missouri legislature have passed a bill that would stagger terms of those serving on the state Credit Union Commission. The bill provides that not all credit union commissioners or all lay commissioners go off the commission at the same time, and further allows the Division of CUs' director to extend the exam cycle from annually to 18 months for qualifying credit unions. The bill goes into effect Aug. 28.

Newspaper Insert Distributed

LATHAM, N.Y.-The New York State Credit Union League, Inc. (NYSCUL) has produced a 10-page section that is being inserted in the Legislative Gazette, the weekly newspaper of New York State government with a circulation exceeding 15,000. The section highlights the league's legislative agenda and issues facing credit unions, and is being distributed just prior to the NYSCUL's GAC in Albany

Auto Loan Program Hits $300M

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.-Four years after launch, a program that finances auto loans for members with credit problems has hit $300 million in originations. Centrix Financial, LLC, a financial and risk management firm, said its Portfolio Management Program (PMP), a special finance auto loan program that debuted in 1998, has passed the $300-million mark and continues to grow. The turnkey program is billed as an alternative to in-house, risk-based lending programs. "The PMP reduces the risk of loss to the equivalency of 'A'-rated auto loan paper, while returning double-digit yields," said Robert E. Sutton, chairman and CEO.

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