A selection of images featuring credit unions' efforts in their communities.

Washington - The Federal Reserve's planned reduction in bond purchases will drive rates up 50 basis points over the course of 2014 as mortgage-backed securities spreads widen, agency forecasts say.

TEXAS CITY, Texas - George Ballis, former chief executive officer of AMOCO FCU, passed away Dec. 24. He was 85 years old.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Tawana Y. James, director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the National Credit Union Administration, retired Friday.

HOUSTON -- Law enforcement officials here are looking for two men who robbed a Chartway Credit Union branch in northwest Harris County Thursday, getting away with an unspecified amount of cash.

DEARBORN, Mich. -- DFCU Financial has issued a new record-breaking special patronage dividend totaling $23 million to its members.

PARCHMENT, Mich.—Advia Credit Union is now the name of the new $ 1 billion entity formed by the merger of two Michigan CUs.

The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors is warning that if results of proposed mandatory annual stress tests for institutions bigger than $10 billion in assets are made public, they could endanger the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund by mistakenly promoting runs.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama State Employees Credit Union has filed what appears to be the first class action lawsuit by a financial services company against Target Corp. over costs from the massive card security data breach.

WASHINGTON -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was one of the most active regulators in 2013, writing a slew of new rules and taking a host of enforcement actions against banks and nonbanks alike.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- PSECU announced Thursday that it will be issuing a $10 million annual bonus to its membership.

The North Carolina membership of Clearview FCU voted to have their accounts and one branch in Charlotte absorbed by Piedmont Advantage CU here.

NAFCU announced its top priorities for 2014, which include preserving the credit union tax exemption, ensuring secondary mortgage market access for CUs and embarking on a "full court press to hold merchants accountable for data breaches that they are responsible for causing."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- CUNA is guardedly optimistic that credit unions' regulatory load will lighten in 2014, while NAFCU feels it will be another busy year.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- NCUA issued a prohibition order Tuesday against Lori Bush, banning her from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Both CUNA and NAFCU feel NCUA's proposed new rule on stress tests for CUs above $10 billion in assets is not needed.

LACEY, Wash. -- A Navy FCU teller at the credit union's Hawk's Prarie office helped police apprehend two suspects who allegedly robbed the office Friday afternoon.

TEXAS CITY, Texas -- AMOCO FCU will pay out more than $1 million in bonus dividends and loan interest rebates to its members with accounts in good standing as of Dec. 31.

As mobile wallets mature, so will attempts to use the technology to marry payments and marketing, according to one industry expert.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Even though anti-bank sentiment has begun to fade, credit unions still have a plethora of marketing opportunities to capture new business and deepen existing relationships with members in 2014.