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PHOENIX - Officials of Arizona FCU were notifying the credit union’s 220,000 members last week of the financial health of the institutions in the face of a $42.5-million mid-year loss, almost $30 million of it in the second quarter.

PASADENA, Calif. - In the wake of the IndyMac Bancorp failure credit unions across the country have been taking steps to reassure members about the safety of their deposits and the National CU Share Insurance Fund.

LENEXA, Kan. – U.S. Central FCU yesterday reported that the continuing deterioration in the mortgage markets had a key role in restated earnings for 2007 – showing instead of a $6.9 million net for the year, as reported earlier, it had a $50.7 million loss.

MADISON, Wis. - Mortgage growth through May of this year is leading loan growth, which is up 2.8% overall after increasing 1% during May. Fixed-rate first mortgages grew 2.6%, according to analysis by CUNA, which said the 2.8% rise in loans outstanding year-to-date 2008, compares with a 1.6% rise for the comparable five-month period in 2007.

SAN FRANCISCO - In one of the biggest fire sales ever in the credit union industry Patelco CU took control last week of two medium-size credit unions that have fallen victim to the area’s real estate crash, Cal State 9 CU and Sterlent CU.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Does your credit union have a “fee income committee?”

DES MOINES, Iowa - To jump-start CU growth in this state, the Iowa Credit Union League has formed the Growth Commission, which is finalizing plans to help CUs lower expenses and invest the savings into strategies to build membership and assets.

MADISON, Wis. - Variable pay programs–which tie monetary rewards to performance measures and productivity–continues to grow in popularity among credit unions, in part because it offers more flexibility than a simple increase to base salary, according to CUNA’s Complete CU Staff Salary Survey.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The California and Nevada CU Leagues recently released the 2008 WestScan economic activity report for credit unions in the two states. WestScan is an annual financial report–with quarterly updates–that examines economic, financial, demographic, and other trends affecting CUs in the Golden and Silver States.

SAN DIMAS - As much as attention has focused on billion-dollar securities writedowns at the world’s largest financial companies, the fingerprints of fair-value accounting are nowhere more evident than in the arcane and isolated milieu of corporate credit unions.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - While sinking mortgage numbers were the most glaring in the data released by NCUA for federally insured credit unions during the first quarter of the year (see related story, page 12), the data also shows:

PORTLAND, Ore. - Credit card balances among CU members grew by nearly 10% at the end of the first quarter of 2008 over the same period one year earlier, while credit unions continue to gain strength in the overall card market.

SAN DIEGO - As the economy continues to be a hot topic, Credit Union Journal asked attendees of WesCorp’s recent Future Forum here, ‘What is your corporate doing to help your CU get through the economic slowdown?’

SAN DIEGO - Despite all the chatter about a recession, several economic experts said it looks like this could be the recession that wasn’t.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Credit unions will be receiving new guidance in the near future regarding what NCUA considers appropriate levels of return on assets (ROA), according to the agency.

PITTSBURGH - In the small, former steel mill town of Monessen, Penn., 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, Jim Ritter, CEO of Valley 1st Community FCU, is seeing some of the toughest economic conditions in the nine years he’s run the credit union. Many residents are struggling with finances, with rising prices for energy and commodities hitting the elderly the hardest.

WASHINGTON - Economic stimulus checks have begun showing up in mailboxes, and the IRS has issued an alert that scam artists are actively making the rounds using the proposed rebates as bait. Among the scams:

PITTSBURGH - Credit Union Journal asked CUs at the Pennsylvania CU Association’s annual meeting, “How is the economy affecting your members?”

MADISON, Wis. - Loans at credit unions increased during March, including fixed-rate mortgages, which were up 2.8%, according to analysis by CUNA. But auto loan balances saw their biggest declines in a decade. CUNA Senior Economist Steve Rick released a statement saying CUs are gaining loan volume as the result of competitors tightening loan standards.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - Credit unions’ share of auto loans dropped slightly during 2007, according to the 2008 Auto Lending Business Intelligence Report released by Credit Union Direct Lending.