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RENO , Nev. – NCUA took over and liquidated troubled Clearstar Financial CU last night, assigning the remnants of the one-time $175 million credit union to United FCU, of St. Joseph, Mich.

WASHINGTON — One of the key lawmakers who convinced the Financial Accounting Standards Board last spring to change mark-to-market rules as banks and credit unions were toppling vowed yesterday to end his push to change accounting rules.

NCUA's $1 billion assessment is not a surprise for most credit unions, but how it will affect bottom lines and future NCUA action is still unsure.CU Journal asked CU leaders what they expect to see as the future becomes more clear.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA Board members conceded yesterday the $1.1 billion premium they assessed will probably be supplemented with additional charges next year and in 2011 as problems continue to grow among natural person credit unions.

DALLAS – Town North Bank, owned by credit union, announced yesterday its long-time CEO John Reap is retiring and will be succeeded by Steven McDonald, its chief financial officer since Sept. 2008.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA yesterday appointed Scott Hunt, a 20-year veteran at the agency, director of its Office of Corporate CUs.

KEY WEST, Fla. – NCUA yesterday took under conservatorship Keys FCU, the largest credit union in the Florida Keys, which has been troubled by poor real estate loans.

LOS ANGELES – NCUA yesterday shuttered tiny Comunidades FCU, a one-time $1.6 million credit union, and authorized the assumption of the majority of its 1,100 accounts by nearby Water and Power Community FCU.

WASHINGTON – Legislation that would require an ‘opt-in’ on overdraft protection plans or bring fees charges for the program under the Truth in Lending Act discourage credit unions from offering the popular programs, also known as bounce protection, credit union executives and directors said yesterday.

MECHANICSBURG, Penn. – Members 1st FCU prevented a tax sale of the troubled Coliseum Entertainment Megaplex in Hampden Township last week by paying $102,000 in overdue property taxes on the property, according to county tax records.

WASHINGTON – Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said last week he is drafting a bill that will set new limits on overdraft protection programs that are lucrative for credit unions and banks.

WASHINGTON – The FDIC on Friday seized the two banking subsidiaries of Irwin Financial Corp., the Columbus , Ind. holding company that once operated more than 75 mortgage subsidiaries inside of credit unions.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA continues to look to the nation’s largest credit unions to resolve the growing number of troubled institutions, approving several more mergers into credit union giants, the agency reported Friday.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A group of borrowers from all over the country filed suit in federal court last week claiming a massive membership fraud at Huron River Area CU, the Michigan credit union that financed speculative real estate deals in south Florida that helped cause the failure of that and two other CUs.

MADISON, Wis. — Sixty percent of credit unions have indicated in a new study that they expect to be in merger talks over the next two years.

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — About two years ago CEO Pat Ahern asked his credit union's board if they could live with the possibility that 73% of the membership might walk out the door with $13 million in assets.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska USA FCU said it has completed the acquisition of High Desert FCU, the one-time $190 million credit union based in Apple Valley, California, one of the biggest credit union failures in several years.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – State regulators have approved the emergency merger of Spirit of St. Louis CU, a one-time $75 million credit union based in Eureka, into Vantage CU, the $600 million Bridgeton credit union.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – State chartered credit unions appear to have won an important victory in their decades-old fight with the Internal Revenue Service over the unrelated business income tax, when the IRS failed to appeal a May ruling in federal court striking down a UBIT assessment against Community First CU here.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Intuit Inc. announced yesterday it has agreed to acquire privately held Mint.com, a provider of online personal finance services, for $170 million in cash.