WASHINGTON -- Bank earnings rose in the third quarter to their highest level in more than four years, while the number of troubled banks fell for the second straight quarter, the FDIC reported this morning.

HAMILTON, Ohio – Aur Group Financial CU has opened a student-run branch in Hamilton High School called Big Blue CU.

WATERLOO, Iowa – A man was arrested for allegedly drawing thousands of dollars from another man's Veridien CU account and then opening up a credit card account under the man's name.

WOODBURY, Minn. -- Postal CU has stepped up to the plate with a $6,000 Thanksgiving donation to local food shelves in the community it serves.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – San Antonio FCU announced a $100,000 gift for scholarships to students attending the Alamo Colleges in the name of its retiring CEO, Jeffrey Farver.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Golden 1 CU has rolled out remote mobile deposits by cellphone for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices.

WASHINGTON -- With the official start of the holiday shopping season just days away, a new survey conducted by CUNA found that 41% of consumers intend to spend less than last year on holiday items, with just 8% percent planning to spend more.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. – Consumers CU is reaching out to prospective U.S. citizens, offering a workshop to assist citizen applicants and special loans to pay for the process, which can cost up to $1,000.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – 121 Financial CU is offering members a short-term 8% fixed-rate Holiday loan to help them finance holiday shopping, starting on Black Friday.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – A state appellate court on Friday rejected an appeal by the former CEO of Boeing Helicopters CU, who said the State Department of Banking could not bar him from the credit union industry because he is no longer working for the credit union, which fired him two years ago.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-Break-ups aren't always a bad thing. That's what Members CU here learned during October when its "Break Up With Your Bank" campaign increased membership by 83% over the previous month.

LAS VEGAS-Just two days after Bank Transfer Day, Credit Union Journal asked attendees of the Credit Union Executives Society's CEO/Executive Team Network conference how much activity their credit unions saw?

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.-Bank Transfer Day was a mixed bag for small credit unions in the Golden State, as most did not have the resources to launch marketing campaigns.

WEST JORDAN, Utah-Despite Bank of America's attempt to wave the white flag by rescinding its $5-per-month debit card fee, consumers poured into Mountain America CU here.

NCUA OKs $11.5 Million

BELOIT, Wis.-Members began lining up at 4 a.m. outside a branch of First Community Credit Union here in order to take advantage of special pricing on loans.

LINCOLN, Neb.-The Nebraska Credit Union League has launched an alternative payday loan program together with six credit unions in Lincoln.

Seven Seventeen CU, Warren, Ohio, appointed Michael Robinson to its board of directors.

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-The nearly 10% increase in consumer loan volume at Empower FCU this year was made possible by electronic documents and signatures over the web.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-Try to guess the top five mission-critical business processes at Finance Center FCU. If you think "maintaining headquarters" is on the list, you guessed right. And if you missed it, don't worry: many people get that one wrong, according to William Hord, VP-enterprise risk management at the $430-million CU.