GROTON, Conn.-Is the year-end bonus dividend a gift to the member or the CU?

LOS ANGELES-It took Kristen Christian less than an hour to lay the groundwork for one of the largest consumer migrations in history.

PLANO, Texas-NCUA last week awarded the remnants of WesCorp FCU, including computer systems and member accounts, to Catalyst Corporate FCU, formed by the recent merger of Southwest Corporate FCU and Georgia Corporate FCU."We had partnered with WesCorp on a variety of projects over the years, and as a result we were already familiar with many of their systems and process," said Brad Ganey, senior vice president/chief operating officer of Catalyst Corporate. "After performing due diligence, we feel confident that Catalyst can provide a compatible, cost-effective option for Western Bridge members."Ganey credit unions will experience minimal changes to the way they do business with their corporate. Catalyst said the same rules for capitalization will apply to future members from WesCorp as what was established for Catalyst's "charter" members. At the end of October Catalyst had $2 billion in assets and 890 members.In the coming weeks Catalyst said it will be contacting members of WesCorp to ensure they are fully informed of the benefits of transitioning to Catalyst as well as what to expect with regard to the transition. More Year-End Bonsues; DFCU Paying $21M DividendDEARBORN, Mich.-Credit unions continued to announce bonus dividends last week, with DFCU Financial CU here announcing the largest, $21-million to be paid Jan. 4. Payment is based on the member's total relationships with the credit union. Over the past six years DFCU Financial has paid total bonus dividends of $110-million. In Peoria, Ill., CEFCU announced it would pay an extraordinary dividend of $7 million, with half of the funds going to savers and half to borrowers, determined by dividends earned and interest paid during the first 11 months of the year. And in Collinsville, Ill., Scott Credit Union is paying $1.1 million in bonus dividends and loan interest to members.NCUA Approves Corporate MergerALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA last week approved the combination of Treasure State Corporate CU in Montana and Kansas Corporate CU, one of seven corporate mergers pending.Kansas Corporate will be the surviving institution, with about $600 million in assets and 200 members. The merger, which has also been approved by regulators in both states, is expected to be completed Jan. 1.The action comes a month after NCUA approved the merger of Pennsylvania's Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU with Virginia Corporate FCU.BECU To Create New Mobile AppTUKWILA, Wash.-BECU said last week it is discontinuing its mobile banking apps for Android and Blackberry smart phones at the end of December as it transitions to a new third-party vendor.BECU is working to develop a new mobile banking app for Android with its new vendor, Clairmail, which it expects to have available around March, according to Todd Pietzsch, spokesman for BECU.Meantime, Android and Blackberry users can still access the credit union's mobile banking through BECU's WAP protocol at its website. BECU has about 50,000 mobile banking users, about 90% of whom use iPhone or Android.SECU Donates $1M To HospiceRALEIGH, N.C.-State Employees' CU said its SECU Foundation, which has been funding a series of critical care hospices around the state, is donating $1 million to the latest project in Bolivia, N.C.The $3.5-million, seven-bed SECU Hospice House will serve patients and families of Brunswick County in North Carolina. The SECU Foundation has also provided $2 million to a hospice project in Winston-Salem, $1 million to a project in Newport and separate grants to hospice projects in Kings Mountain, Hudson and Shelby, N.C.Horizon Expands Into MT With MergerSPOKANE, Wash.-The boards of Horizon CU and Montana First CU have approved the combination of the two credit unions, giving Horizons its first entry into adjourning Montana.Horizon, which has $420 million in assets, currently has branches in Washington and Idaho.Under the deal, Montana First, which has two Missoula branches, will keep its name and all of its employees and one Montana First director will join the Horizon Credit Union board.Montana First CEO, Chris Sisco, will be retained as a regional VP of the $480-million merged entity.e_SClBNutmeg State Seeks 'Super Fans'HARTFORD, Conn.-Nutmeg State FCU is looking for "super fans" who, if chosen, will be featured in a series of TV and print ads. The CU is looking for existing and new members who are enthusiastic about its member service and business offerings. The ads are being done as part of its 75th anniversary with tapings and photo shoots planned in January 2012.Bellco Seeks FOM ExpansionGREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.-Bellco Credit Union has applied to state regulators to expand its field of membership (FOM) to serve more than 500,000 people in Adams and Broomfield counties. The application comes just months after the $2-billion credit union was approved to add 600,000 residents in Denver County.CCCU Rolls Out 'Unbank' CampaignJOHNSTON, Iowa-Community Choice CU last week became latest credit union to bank on a growing anger over big banks with the roll out of a new ad campaign touting itself as the "Unbank." The $330-million credit unions is offering people a variety of reasons to "unbank" with them, including lower fees and better service, but the most important is: "We are not a bank." The credit union will sell T-shirts that say, "Thank your bankers today for all the money you've made them," or "If I were a bank, you'd be paying fees for this." Media will include TV, radio, in-branch and social media. The credit union even plans to put "swear jars" in the lobby for employees to drop money in every time they accidentally use the four-letter word "bank."Ex-Manager Get Jail SentenceROANOKE, Va.-A former branch manager for Freedom First CU was sentenced last week to 10 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement for modifying existing loans held by her mother, father-in-law and a friend to draw money for her own use. Catherine Keith, 35, also diverted notifications about the accounts so they went to her instead of to the named borrowers, and violated credit union policy when she handled the accounts of relatives. Keith has repaid $36,000 of the money but still owes about $10,000, a debt she said relatives are helping her repay. She was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended after she serves 10 days.CUs Seeing Less Staff TurnoverMADISON, Wis.-A new report suggests credit unions are seeing less turnover now than was seen prior to the recession. The report, CUNA's 2011-12 Turnover and Staffing Survey, found that overall CU turnover is 12%, higher than 2009% 9% but below the 2008 pre-recession figure of 8%.The study found hiring levels remain modest at credit unions, with an ongoing dip in creation of new jobs. The percentage of employees hired to fill newly created credit union positions was roughly 5% from 2005 to 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, 3% of CU employees filled newly created positions, CUNA reported.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA proposed last week to expand its rules governing loan participations-including the 10% "skin in the game" requirement-from the current federally chartered credit unions to cover all federally insured credit unions.

COMSTAR FCU, Frederick, Md., named Victoria Johnston the institution's permanent CEO. Johnston has served as acting CEO for the last year.

FDIC APPROVES UNITED FCU'S PURCHASE OF SAVINGS BANK

CUES' Johnson To Retire At End of '12

LAS VEGAS-One year in the desert has done wonders for the health of Honolulu-based Aloha Pacific FCU.

OMAHA, Neb.-A two-for-one loan sale can boost the portfolio, but it should include numerous loan types to make the deal more attractive to members.

SEATTLE-Verity Credit Union won't be doing any more cartwheels to raise awareness in 2012, but it is doing cartwheels over two offbeat strategies that worked well earlier this year.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-The Credit Union Committee on Declaration of Grievances is getting bigger and gaining traction.

LATHAM, N.Y.-Duck Pirates, the only Android, iPhone and iPad game created by a credit union, has been downloaded about 38,000 times since it was introduced by Sunmark FCU here in May.

AVONDALE, Penn.-Two credit unions that opened a jointly owned and managed branch say the plan has worked like gangbusters, and one CEO says it could be a model for other institutions.

JOPLIN, Mo.-While some credit unions here are just getting their offices back to normal after riding out one of the deadliest tornadoes to strike the U.S. in 50 years, one CU continues to struggle with after-effects that aren't going away anytime soon.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-If the petition circulated by Randy Karnes earlier this year did one thing, it got at least some people to stop complaining behind the scenes about NCUA and the CU trade associations.

SALT LAKE CITY-An initiative to offer e-signatures and e-closings on mortgage loans at Mountain America CU here has proved successful in its first year, and the credit union is now hoping to expand e-closings to other loan offerings in the coming years.

SEATTLE-Two credit unions based in the Puget Sound region are continuing to see excellent results from short-term, limited-fee mortgages they introduced this summer.

WASHINGTON-A number of people remain hopeful that early next year community development financial institutions will learn they have access to more secondary capital.

RALEIGH, N.C.-It was a good year to develop a new checking account switch kit, reports State Employees CU.

OKLAHOMA CITY-A loan to finance storm shelters for members here that was introduced after tornadoes devastated the area in the Spring of 2011 has netted Communication FCU more than three-quarters of a million dollars in loan growth.