RENO, Nev. – Great Basin FCU has hired J.R. Bruno & Associates to help it create an SBA and member business lending program.

PORT HURON, Mich. – E&A CU, which is merging with First Community FCU to create a $1-billion credit union, has signed a marketing deal with Boston ad firm James and Mathews.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – 121 Financial CU used the latest video technology in the form of a helicopter drone to identify and record the location and facilities of each of its Jacksonville branches for a series of online videos and television commercials.

NEW YORK – Residential Capital asked a U.S. bankruptcy court here to deny a $300-million claim by NCUA related to the 2009 collapses of U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU – among thousands of investors who bought mortgage-backed securities from the bankrupt former subprime mortgage unit of GMAC.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed today to review a case about whether the White House violated the constitution and did not have the power to make certain recess appointments last year, potentially settling the political battle over who may head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency this morning to provide details of Sallie Mae’s funding through the Federal Home Loan Banks—reserved by law for mortgage financing—in light of the student loan giant’s growing dominance in the market for private student loans.

After the "mess" of the recession, Andrew Bieno says some credit unions have become overly cautious with auto lending.

Two years after outsourcing its call center to a third party, Credit Union ONE here has re-centralized its member contact center, splitting it between divisions focused on service and sales.

In the next five years, Lee Butke of Corporate One expects "a few" more mergers among the remaining corporate CUs.

Four years after a crisis among some corporate credit unions began, the corporate CU marketplace has been forever changed.

Corporate CUs have had to make a number of adjustments to their product mixes and the services they offer, especially as closure of U.S. Central leaves a void.

Credit Union Journal asked three corporate credit union CEOs, "What is the value proposition of your corporate?"

Hearings About to Begin For NCUA Board Nominee

Co-Ops For Change released an updated agenda for what it wants to see from NCUA, highlighting concerns around harm to CUs it says is being caused by recent regulations and legislation.

Any credit union can make an impression with its marketing and branding. But as one person stressed during Credit Union Journal's Grow Show, a CU must repeatedly hammer away at the same message while also giving people a reason to take notice.

Plenty of credit unions sponsor events, but one CU that has had particular success backing a local concert series reminded that it's important the branding promotion not get lost in the potential for cross sales.

Putting the right pictures on a credit card has just been one of the details that have made a buy-local program at one credit union here so successful.

Credit unions at the front of the curve when it comes to using Facebook to make loans are finding members more than "like," the option, they are filling out applications there too, including mortgages.

More credit unions are leveraging e-signature to reach into new geographic markets without adding bricks and mortar, reports Michael Ball, VP of markets and strategy for IMM.

One person believes that one of credit unions' biggest growth opportunities in the remainder of 2013 lies in the realm of merchant services.