Montana

Edward Arthur Nurse was in charge of the vault at Park Side Credit Union. Then $389,000 went missing, replaced by piles of fake cash.

Rhonda Diefenderfer, who has led the Billings, Mont., credit unon for 20 years, will retire in May and be succeeded by the credit unions busines vice president of business lending.

The trade group supported 11 incumbents running for re-election, including the embattled Maine Sen. Susan Collins, and may have helped Republicans maintain control of the Senate.

Butte Community Federal Credit Union, which previously served just one county, added five more after getting regulatory approval.

Following a merger earlier this fall, McCone County FCU has unveiled its new name.

Whitefish Credit Union has surpassed $1.5 billion in total assets thanks to growth in consumer loans brought on by an increased digital marketing presence.

The Montana company will pay $135 million for a bank with 10 branches in seven Arizona markets.

Bob Bjelland has led the Lewistown, Mont.-based institution for more than three decades.

The company will pay $13 million for the parent of Western Bank of Wolf Point.

Shelby Community has just 1,000 members and $5 million in assets and will complete the merger into 1st Liberty by the end of August.

The Montana-based institution will open its doors as Clearwater later this year, a move leadership hopes will better connect it with consumers in other parts of the state.

The North Dakota company agreed to buy the $90 million-asset Prairie Mountain Bank.

Two recent campaigns show credit unions can still make an impact with old-school marketing, but some fear too few institutions are utilizing data in ways that can target those messages for maximum effect.

The Montana company agreed to buy Heritage Bancorp for $241 million.

BrightWise is a joint venture among the Iowa CU League, its holding company and LMG Security. The initiative aims to teach credit union professionals how to better protect their institutions.

FNB Bancorp in Utah, which is being sold to Glacier Bancorp, decided that the Montana bank's decentralized model would save jobs and give its management team more autonomy.

The Montana company will more than double its assets in Utah when it buys FNB Bancorp.

The Sidney, Mont.-based institution distributed the payments earlier this week.

Regulators have approved the proposed merger of Big Sky Federal Credit Union into Billings Federal Credit Union.

McCone County Federal Credit Union has added roughly $9 million of assets with the merger of Fallon County Federal Credit Union.