Ala. Senate Rejects Commissioner
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The state Senate's Confirmations Committee voted down the reappointment of Terrell Glenn Latham as the head of the state's CU Administration, who was nominated by Republican Gov. Bob Riley.
Latham had served as the state's credit union supervisor under Republican Gov. Fob James, then was replaced by Democrat Don Siegelman, promoting his retirement.
But he was nominated once again to head the state agency by Riley.
Vickie Williams, chief lobbyist for the Alabama CU league, said the Democratically controlled legislature has been at odds with the new Republican Governor, making it difficult for him to push his agenda.
"They are just not cooperating," she told The Credit Union Journal. Earlier in the day the Senate panel rejected the governor's three appointments for the state liquor board.
CCU To Switch To Bank Charter
VANCOUVER, Wash.-Columbia CU said it has applied to state regulators to convert to a state-chartered mutual savings bank.
At $575 million in assets, the conversion would be one of the biggest credit union defections yet. It would be the third credit union in Washington to convert to a bank over the past three years.
NCUA Adds Love To Region VI
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA said Robert Blatner, director of its west coast Region VI office, retired last month after 29 years with the agency and will be succeeded by Melinda Love, currently director of Midwest Region IV.
Love has been director since June 2000 of the Chicago-based Region IV office, which will be shut down next year under the agency's reorganization. The reorganization will also entail moving the Region Six office, which oversees credit unions in 11 western states and Guam, from Concord, Calif., a San Francisco suburb, to Phoenix in 2004.
Love has been with NCUA since 1986, staring as an examiner and working her way up the ladder as a problem case office, supervision analyst, supervisory examiner, until serving briefly as deputy executive director before being appointed director of Region IV.
CUNA Mutual Elects New Chief
MADISON, Wis.-CUNA Mutual Group said its board has elected Loretta Burd, president of Centra Credit Union, Columbus, Ind., as the new chairperson of CUNA Mutual Group and CUNA Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Burd will succeed James Bryan, president of Texans CU, Richardson, Texas, whose two-year term as chairman expired. Bryan McDonnell, president of Navy Federal CU, was elected vice chairman of the CUNA Mutual board.
SCC Signs Branch Automation Pact
RANCHO CUCOMONGA, Calif.-Service Centers Corp. said it has signed with PRODUCT4 to provide automation technology to its 51 shared service branches.
The PRODUCT4 teller system will be installed in more than 300 workstations throughout the SCC network over the next eight months.
The system includes capabilities for handling financial and non-financial transactions, bond redemptions, check and money orders, sales and customer referrals, reporting and anti-fraud features. SCC is a subsidiary of The CO-OP Network.
Take The Money And Run At RCU
SANTA ROSA, Calf.-A masked man pulled a handgun and jumped over the teller's counter at Redwood Credit Union.
He then grabbed cash from an open drawer and leaped back over the counter before fleeing into the street.
Police searched the area by helicopter soon after the heist but did not find the bandit.
A surveillance camera outside the credit union caught the robber as he approached the building and showed him pulling a ski mask over his head.
The branch had only been open for two months.
