SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Teachers CU said its TCU Insurance Agency has acquired Freedom Insurance Agency in Plymouth.

PHOENIX – Arizona State CU said it has accepted 167 applications for the Home Affordable Refinance Program in its efforts to help underwater homeowners obtain more affordable mortgages.

PORTLAND, Ore. – OnPoint Community CU will participate in the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program to help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages.

PARCHMENT, Mich. – First Community FCU’s “Skip the Fee – Swipe for Free” debit card program resulted in $172,500 in debit fee givebacks and prizes to members, including a $5,000 grand prize.

SALT LAKE CITY – Prosecutors say a 26-year-old Sandy man used his father’s Mountain America CU Visa credit card to go on a one-day, $5,600 spending spree because he “needed an escape.”

LOS ANGELES – The former chief executive of WesCorp FCU is said to be ready to settle civil negligence claims with NCUA over the failure of the one-time $34-billion corporate credit union, following two other senior WesCorp executives who have agreed to terms.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five years after two big credit union failures left it with 1,700 southwest Florida properties, NCUA is continuing to receive declining prices for hundreds of properties on the depressed local market, according to a new internal study released last week by the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

WASHINGTON – Friday’s takeover of troubled Telesis Community CU, a California credit union weighed down by failing business loans, is sure to resonate on Capitol Hill this week as the banking lobby seeks to block a Senate vote on the bill to raise the member business loan limit for credit unions.

CHATSWORTH, Calif. -- The California Department of Financial Institutions took over Telesis Community CU, the one-time $625 million credit union with one of the biggest member business loan portfolios in the country, Friday night and appointed NCUA as conservator.

WASHINGTON – Senate leaders last night introduced a new bill to raise the member business loan cap—identical to the old bill—which will enable Majority Leader Harry Reid to bypass a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee and bring the bill directly to a vote by a full Senate as early as next week, which would be the first time Congress has ever voted on the issue.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – East Idaho CU has signed a five-year contract with Share One to implement the company’s NewSolutions core processing platform.

RICHMOND, Va. – Entrust Financial CU has signed with COMPASS 4 CUs for regulatory compliance services, including reviews of Bank Secrecy Act compliance, policies and procedures, marketing, website, and training.

IRONDALE, Ala. – Corporate America CU is the latest corporate credit union to offer “Smart Option” private student loans through Sallie Mae.

CHALFONT, Penn. – Merck Sharp & Dohme FCU has contracted with INVEST Financial Corp. to provide its members with brokerage and investment services.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – City County CU has signed with Fynanz to provide its cuStudentLoans private student loan platform to its members.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A new program offered by Sioux Empire FCU gives savers the ability to put extra change away from debit card purchases by rounding up transactions to the nearest dollar and adding the difference to the member’s savings account.

PLEASANTON, Calif. – Patelco CU has implemented UChoose Rewards, a customizable rewards program designed to incent cardholder usage and provide consumer benefits for both debit and credit programs.

BALTIMORE – Horsetail Technologies and Credit Union Journal have partnered to make an extraordinary offer that will result in one credit union receiving a $100,000 Extreme Network Makeover.

WASHINGTON – Long-term mortgage rates surged this week from near all-time lows the prior month as mortgage rates continued to track bond yields and improving economic data, according to Freddie Mac.

YUMA, Ariz. – NCUA, which is managing a bulging real estate portfolio throughout the “sand states,” yesterday won title to an historic downtown property in a trustee sale that reverted to its lender, AEA FCU.