WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The deadline is near for nominations and entries for Credit Union Journal’s 2013 Best Practices Awards – as nominations must be received by July 31.

MOOSE LAKE, Minn. – Lake State CU is opening its first branch in Duluth that will have no teller windows and no tellers on-site, but instead will offer interactive video teller machines.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU announced the creation of an emergency contact for members over 60 years of age who may suspect financial abuse, as part of the state’s new effort to combat elder abuse.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – A member of Penn State FCU and SPE CU pleaded guilty to laundering more than $372,000 through the two credit unions to evade federal reporting requirements.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The website for Panhandle Educators FCU was penetrated and defaced by a hacker Sunday morning.

SAN DIEGO – A man who robbed a Navy FCU branch this morning was arrested outside his residence after a tracking device inserted in the stolen bag of cash allowed a police helicopter to follow him all the way home.

WICHITA, Kan. – A federal appeals court on Friday directed NCUA and Barclays Capital to negotiate a possible settlement of claims in the corporate credit union crisis, as a preliminary step to formal review of a lower court ruling dismissing NCUA’s $555 million suit against the Wall Street bank.

WASHINGTON – CUNA has asked NCUA to consider suspending its annual corporate bailout assessments next year as losses on the remnants of the five corporate failures continue to decline.

NCUA last week set the 2013 corporate CU assessment at eight basis points, or $700.9 million, a sign that the multi-year resolution program may be winding down.

A new Filene Research Institute study that concludes a credit union CEO's personality is even more important that ability or experience came as no surprise to two industry veterans.

A new study from the Filene Research Institute has found a credit union CEO's personality matters even more than his or her other abilities and education when it comes to successful leadership.

The failure of two credit unions here due to fraud has CUs in the area saying they are finding it challenging to maintain their good name, and at the same time believe they are being given extra scrutiny by regulators.

It's time credit unions make critical business decisions around mortgage lending and compliance, including staffing levels and reporting alignment, all due to new CFPB rules taking effect next year, urges one expert.

The U.S. migration to EMV is not a mandate, but it might as well be, says one compliance expert, who is also providing some guidance on making the shift to this new payments technology.

Credit unions need to think strategically, subscribe to scale and automate to have any hope of meeting compliance demands.

The confirmation of Richard Cordray to director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adds some certainty to the compliance picture ahead, including that the clock is ticking on a host of new mortgage compliance rules taking effect in January.

The biggest compliance issues credit unions will face in the next 12 months relate to every step of the mortgage process, and one person says it's going to have an impact on more than just the mortgage department.

Small and mid-size CUs are being urged to pay attention to new rules related to loan participations.

It takes a village to ... keep credit unions in compliance.

Although "CFPB" has become a four-letter word at most CUs, Linda Clampitt said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actually has done a good job in recent months of producing "how to" guides.