TAMPA, Fla. – A branch manager and longtime employee at Suncoast Schools FCU was arrested and charged with fraud after investigators determined she stole at least $49,125 from member accounts over the past year to support a prescription drug habit.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University FCU provided $25,000 in start-up capital to a local ceramics company as part of the Greenlight Business Model Competition it created with Spartan Innovation.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An increasing reliance on fees and other revenues from its member business loan portfolio sent Telesis Community CU spiraling toward insolvency, accelerating as a growing number of the one-time $615-million credit union’s MBLs went sour, a new report issued this afternoon by NCUA’s Office of Inspector General says.

LANSING, Mich. – Lake Trust CU, the state’s fourth-largest credit union, announced plans today to move out of the downtown and build a 100,000-square-foot headquarters in the nearby suburb of Brighton.

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – NCUA said this afternoon that Kinecta FCU has acquired the remnants of I.C.E. FCU, a one-time $7 million Inglewood-based credit union that failed last week.

HOUSTON – InvesTex CU has agreed to acquire StarTrust FCU, the troubled former Enron Corp. credit union, accelerating the consolidation of credit unions in the Houston market.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Service CU announced this morning its U.S. members can now pay bills and transfer funds in Euros with its Euro Bill Pay, an online-only feature allowing them to initiate transfers from their credit union checking account to European banks in Eurocurrency.

WICHITA, Kan. – A former employee of Enterprise CU on Tuesday was sentenced to two years of probation for embezzling $85,000 through a check kiting scheme.

CARMEL, Ind. – Allied Solutions said it now is the exclusive distributor of the iSolutions Marketing Automation Platform integrated media system in the credit union marketplace.

LA HABRA, Calif. – American First CU has signed with cuautocopoun to offer the company’s savings program for auto service, parts or accessories.

DENVER – Bellco CU has re-signed with CO-OP Financial Services to provide its members with CO-OP’s MemberPay online bill payment services.

WASHINGTON – The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who is fighting for his political life, urged Congress to speed up the pace of reform of the two mortgage giants and open the door for the entry of private capital into the secondary mortgage markets.

LOWELL, Mass. – Leon Bedard, who began his career at Jeanne D’Arc CU as a part-time teller 55 years ago and became an executive and volunteer, retired from the board of the $1-billion credit union last month after 37 years.

DURHAM, N.C. – Self-Help CU’s Carolina Mountains CU subsidiary is offering a new Go Local CD that promises members the proceeds will be invested in local ventures, such as stores and companies, and for mortgages and auto loans.

PLEASANTON, Calif. – The CEO of $3.8-billion Patelco Credit Union is “looking to make a professional transition” and decided the CU’s recent success made this the right time to depart, according to a spokesperson.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said it will select a number of federal credit unions for a fair lending examination – as it has in past years – based on a number of factors including a credit union Home Mortgage Disclosure Act profile.

WESTWOOD, N.J. – Ten debit networks agreed today to adopt a common U.S. debit application identifier and work with Discover Financial Services to license the D-Payment Application Specification, known as D-PAS, as the foundation for a common U.S. debit chip payment platform.

MIAMI – In a ruling with enormous ramifications for Wall Street, a federal court here yesterday dismissed a fraud suit brought by Space Coast CU against several Wall Street banks and ratings agencies over $150 million of risky investments known as collateralized debt obligations—or CDOs—they sold to Eastern Financial Florida CU, the huge Florida credit union that failed in 2009 and was subsequently acquired by Space Coast.

WASHINGTON – The Senate Banking Committee on a straight party-line vote endorsed Richard Cordray for a full term as director of the Consumer Financial protection Bureau, setting up a showdown with Republicans who have vowed to block a vote by the full Senate.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – A growing number of Americans are turning to their smart phones and tablets for immediate relief from financial stress, according to new research released today.