KINGSTON, N.Y. – Mid-Hudson Valley FCU has signed with Open Solutions to convert its core processing system to the company’s DNA platform.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU launched a joint initiative with Bluepoint Solutions to assist credit unions with lower check volumes to adopt Check 21-enabled branch capture, and to enable credit unions of all sizes to convert check processing operations to the corporate’s systems.

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – Dow Chemical Employees CU has signed with Fynanz to offer the company’s private student loans through its cuStudentLoans program.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – ESL FCU said yesterday it has installed March Networks’ Financial Solution to secure its new corporate headquarters, retail banking branches and standalone ATMs.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – VyStar CU said yesterday it has signed with Cardtronics to place its brand on Cardtronics-owned ATMs in 10 Walgreens stores located in Alachua County in northeastern Florida.

WASHINGTON – NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said yesterday painful moves by NCUA over the past two years – she called it “tough love” – including conservatorships and a large number of administrative actions, helped prevent the failures of several billion-dollar credit unions, which would have added to the industry’s costs to replenish the National CU Share Insurance Fund.

CONCORD, Calif. – A poorly timed foray into home equity lines of credit ended up burying Cal State 9 CU and wiping out almost $250 million in equity – including $205 million of it accruing to the National CU Share Insurance Fund – after the failed credit union was taken over by NCUA in July 2008.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is planning the wind down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and will begin the process of encouraging more private sector involvement in the secondary mortgage market, a top administration official said yesterday during CUNA’s Government Affairs Conference.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU is cutting interest rates on its Salary Advance Loan by as much as 50%.

SEATTLE – In the latest mega-merger among credit unions, on Monday Watermark CU announced it is combining with Tacoma’s Sound CU to create a credit union with more than $1.1 billion in assets.

BEAUMONT, Texas – The president of defunct Orange County Employees FCU, taken over by NCUA last June, pleaded guilty this afternoon to money laundering in connection with the theft of almost $1.2 million from the one-time $4 million credit union. Sandra Cooper, 56, pleaded guilty to embezzling the funds over a four and half year period. The credit union had just two employees and was housed in the administration building adjacent to the Orange County courthouse. After taking over the credit union, NCUA assigned the accounts to Sabine FCU, also located in the city of Orange. Cooper’s conviction comes less than a week after the CEO of Center Valley FCU was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing as much as $9 million from the Wheeling, W.V., credit union. Sentencing has not been scheduled yet in the Cooper case.BEAUMONT, Texas – The president of defunct Orange County Employees FCU, taken over by NCUA last June, pleaded guilty this afternoon to money laundering in connection with the theft of almost $1.2 million from the one-time $4 million credit union.

WASHINGTON — CUNA closed the books on the Dan Mica era this morning, reporting a $2.2 million net for 2010, helping to rebuild reserves that two years of losses had severely depleted.

VIRGINIA BEACH – A legally blind youth got to visit his favorite TV character SpongeBob SquarePants at the Nickelodeon Resort in Orlando, Fla., thanks to a $200,000 gift to Make-A-Wish Foundation by Chartway FCU. As part of his wish, Thomas Bannon, who was born with optimum hyper plazio, will soon get “slimed” at the Nickelodeon Resort, where he will meet the popular cartoon character. The credit union’s donation will also help make wishes come true for about 20 other sick children.VIRGINIA BEACH – A legally blind youth got to visit his favorite TV character SpongeBob SquarePants at the Nickelodeon Resort in Orlando, Fla., thanks to a $200,000 gift to Make-A-Wish Foundation by Chartway FCU.

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Student And Alumni FCU said Katie Cohen, class of 2012, has been hired as CEO of the $15 million credit union. The credit union grew its assets 29% last year and reported net income of $54,263.WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Student And Alumni FCU said Katie Cohen, class of 2012, has been hired as CEO of the $15 million credit union.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Cooperative FCU will leverage a $25,000 grants from the Central New York Community Foundation to make $100,000 available for small business loans up to $20,000. The program will be overseen by the Near West Side Initiative. To be eligible for a loan, business owners must enroll in the initiative’s small business program and be a member of the area’s newly formed business association. The program offers free one-on-one classes in marketing, financial strategies, and basic market research, among other topics. SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Cooperative FCU will leverage a $25,000 grants from the Central New York Community Foundation to make $100,000 available for small business loans up to $20,000.

MADISON, Wis. – A husband and wife who boosted their savings by $8,242 and decreased their debt by $8,100 were awarded $10,000 last week as winners of Summit CU’s “Project Money” savings contest. “Our entire future has a brighter outlook,” said Rachel Seltzner, winner of the prize with her husband Brian Meixner, the self-proclaimed Budgeteers. “Because of our focused budget, we’ll soon have all of our debt paid off. We can now be more at ease with our finances and enjoy life.” Since the program’s kick off in June 2010, four teams worked with Summit financial coaches to develop goals and a budget to better their financial situations. The four participants boosted their savings by $13,169 and decreased their debt by $40,787. Each of the Project Money runners-up also walked away with $2,500. MADISON, Wis. – A husband and wife who boosted their savings by $8,242 and decreased their debt by $8,100 were awarded $10,000 last week as winners of Summit CU’s “Project Money” savings contest.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said last week that credit unions that charge fees for automatic identity theft protection programs as part of their free checking may be guilty of unfair and deceptive practices and need to disclose the fees and allow members to opt-in. A credit union, said NCUA in a new legal opinion, “should not assess such charges unless it is clearly within its contractual rights and has met all the relevant requirements of applicable laws.” Under the proposal, a credit union would automatically enroll its members, without the members’ request or consent, to receive certain services, including identity theft protection, on free checking accounts. The credit union would deduct periodic fees from the members unless the members choose to opt out of receiving the services. The truth-in-savings disclosure would list a $1 monthly fee for the services but describing the fee as optional. Among the laws and regulations such a practice may violate are the Federal Trade Commission Act’s unfair and deceptive acts and practices, known as UDAP, NCUA Truth In Savings Act requirements and NCUA’s own advertising rule.ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said last week that credit unions that charge fees for automatic identity theft protection programs as part of their free checking may be guilty of unfair and deceptive practices and need to disclose the fees and allow members to opt-in.

MIAMI – Power Financial CU filed suit against NCUA in federal court last week after NCUA cancelled the sale of more than $15 million of mortgages from troubled Keys FCU to the suburban Miami credit union. Power Financial said its July 2010 deal with NCUA was critical because the borrowers were within its field of membership, a difficult condition to meet for credit unions buying whole loans. Under terms of the deal, approved by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the borrowers were set to become members of Power Financial, which has been trying to expand into Florida’s Keys, a group if connected islands that stretch 160 miles south of Miami. “It is extremely difficult for Power Financial to purchase replacement Mortgage Loans due to the fact that its ability to purchase the Mortgage Loans is limited by state regulation to specific preapproved geographic areas where persons may become members of Power Financial,” the $475 million credit union said in its suit. The deal was terminated in August after NCUA, which is running Keys, told Power Financial the sale was no longer in the best interest of Keys. Power Financial said it sent several letters to Keys demanding the Key West credit union abide by the agreement but has not received a response. NCUA has been trying to resolve Keys FCU since it took the one-time $210 million credit union under conservatorship in September 2009. One deal to acquire the credit union by Dade County FCU fell through. A lawyer for Power Financial did not return a phone call seeking comment.MIAMI – Power Financial CU filed suit against NCUA in federal court last week after NCUA cancelled the sale of more than $15 million of mortgages from troubled Keys FCU to the suburban Miami credit union.

BOSTON – After a two-year hiatus, credit unions are planning significant boosts in their spending on Information Technology, with much of the focus switching to so-called Cloud Computing. A new study release by IT consultants Aite Group shows that 65% of participants have budgeted more money for IT this year, with 35% citing increases of more than 10%. Mobile banking continues to be the top IT priority, with remote deposit capture and enhancement of member experience, such as use of e-statements or social media, close behind. But the new buzzword for IT departments is cloud computing, or location-independent computing. Aite found that 41% of credit unions plan to make significant investments in cloud computing this year or next, with cost savings and disaster recovery being the driving motivations. Other purposes for implementing cloud computing are: it enables greater focus on business issue; it enables more effective security monitoring; it helps address more complex auditing requirements; and it enables a credit union to outsource compliance monitoring. Many credit unions are looking at technology solutions to help them attract a greater membership from younger people, the study found. Aite said the average age for credit union members is in the mid-40's. Aite also said it previous surveys found that only 4% of Gen Yers would be very likely to consider a credit union the next time they needed a financial product and 18% didn’t even know what a credit union is. The study was based on a survey of 83 credit unions, most of them over $100 million in assets, in December and January.

ATLANTA – First Data said two credit unions, Alabama CU and Innovations FCU, are among the first institutions to sign on for its new mobile banking product, which uses technology from mFoundry. First Data‘s Mobile Manager – mBanking product enables financial institutions to offer all three modes of mobile banking: SMS, mobile web, and downloadable applications, including a branded iPhone app available through the App Store online store. First Data plans to roll out the same capabilities for Android phones, with availability in the Android Market during the first half of 2011. The Mobile Manager integrates seamlessly with First Data’s FundsXpress online banking platform, enabling a consistent experience with the same capabilities as online banking on a mobile device, and only one set of logon credentials to manage. First Data offers the Mobile Manager – mBanking solution as a fully hosted and integrated service. This results in lower costs for a financial institution than developing a solution in-house. Two Texas banks are the first to go live with the system, American Bank of Texas and Waggoner National Bank.