FORT WORTH, Texas – Fort Worth City CU has added Integrated Media Management’s eDocs TotaleAtlasWeb solution to support members’ ability to securely sign documents away from a physical branch, at their convenience, anywhere 24/7.

LAKE HOUGHTON, Mich. – North Central Area CU has branched into the community’s elementary schools with new student-run branches in Houghton Lake, Roscommon, Standish and Twining.

LOWELL, Mass. – NMTW Community CU is inviting its members to chat with Boston Bruins’ star Milan Lucic via the credit union’s Facebook page.

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – “...A guy comes into the credit union pushing a wheelbarrow full of 56,600 pennies.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said this afternoon it is undecided whether it follow the banking agencies’ lead in proposing a new rule prohibiting incentive-based compensation deals that encourage big risk taking by management. The FDIC and the three other banking agencies, the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision–all of whom drafted the rule with NCUA–issued the rule for public comment today. The NCUA Board is scheduled to be briefed on the proposal next week. The NCUA proposal would apply to all executive officers of large credit unions, the 175 institutions over $1 billion in assets. The proposed rule defines “executive officer” as a person who holds the title or performs the function of: president, chief executive officer, executive chairman, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief investment officer, chief lending officer, chief legal officer, chief risk officer, or head of a major business line. The proposed rule is required under provisions of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act which seeks to rein in excessive Wall Street compensation that was found to be tied, in many cases, to risky activities that caused some of the biggest losses during the financial crisis. The FDIC proposed additional provisions on the biggest banks, those over $50 billion, which would require those firms hold on to at least half the bonuses paid to top executives for three or more years. But credit unions have also been tainted by allegations of risky behavior by bonus-seeking management. NCUA is suing executives of WesCorp FCU over claims the management of the one-time $34 billion corporate engage din risky activities to boost the corporate’s profits and earn big bonuses. The proposed rule is supposed to be effective six months after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register, with annual reports due within 90 days of the end of each covered financial institution’s fiscal year. The other agency’s proposing the rule are the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Housing Finance Authority, the regulator for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.

CHICAGO – Alliant CU has landed in new markets with the completion of its acquisition of Continental FCU, the target of the unsuccessful 2007 hostile takeover which eventually cost members of the airline employees credit union a promised $5 million payout. Continental fended off a proposed 2007 takeover by Wings Financial CU in which the Minnesota credit union promised to pay out $5 million of Continental’s excessive capital to members after completion of the bid, which was noted for being the first non-consensual–or hostile-- merger offer among credit unions. But by the time Alliant, the one-time American Airlines employees credit union, completed its deal for Continental, losses had erased almost all of the smaller credit union’s capital and eliminated any chance of a merger dividend. The hostile offer by Wings Financial caused such a controversy in the credit union movement that the one-time Northwest Airlines employees credit union was forced to withdraw its offer and with it the promised $5 million member payout. As a result, Continental members ended up with nothing, with the credit union piling on additional losses since then that wiped out virtually all of its capital. Continental, a one-time $210 million credit union which serves employees of Continental Airlines and U.S. Airways, reported a $9.6 million loss for 2009 and a $9.3 million loss for 2010, as net worth declined to just $561,000 on $150 million in assets. The Continental deal will give $7.6 billion Alliant seven additional branches in Arizona, California, Texas and New Jersey, including facilities at George Bush Intercontinental and Newark International airports, in Houston and Newark, N.J., respectively.

New Functionality Added To Site

BISMARCK, N.D.-First Community Credit Union here has found a way to get its name in the news-by forcing a worker to put up its billboard in weather as cold as 40 below zero.

SALT LAKE CITY-After two years of testing, Mountain America CU is preparing to launch its Quick Close program for mortgages.

COVINA, Calif.-Credit union CEOs received larger pay increases in 2010 than in 2009, a sign that the CU industry and the economy are recovering, reports Executive Compensation Solutions (ECS).

Visa Reports 15% Rise In Plastic Transactions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-After 38 years as CEO, Larry D. Morgan has retired as CEO of APCO Employees Credit Union. During his tenure Morgan oversaw tremendous growth, from $3 million in assets to more than $2 billion, and from 3,200 members to more than 61,000.

MADISON, Wis.-With the never-ending buzz over what's new in technology, a new paper seeks to help credit unions, which operate with limited IT budgets, to separate the signal from the noise long enough to make smart investments.

MADISON, Wis.-CUES is concerned that NCUA Letter 10-0913 may limit credit unions' ability to provide financial education to associate directors.

MADISON, Wis.-While in favor of NCUA's new financial literacy standards for federal CU board members, two trade groups are expressing concerns over requirements to comply with the new provisions, and raising the even bigger question of whether the rules will have any real impact on board knowledge.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-As NCUA prepared to release a letter to credit unions further clarifying requirements regarding the new director financial literacy standards for federal credit unions, Credit Union Journal spoke with NCUA Associate General Counsel Paul Peterson to gain insights into the new rule, including how NCUA will enforce the new provisions.

YUMA, Ariz.-Authorities sifting through fraud charges against the former director of business lending at AEA FCU are estimating the scheme will cost the one-time $410 million credit union almost $58 million, pushing the credit union to the brink of insolvency and making it one of the biggest credit union frauds in recent years.

NEW YORK-A study of the attack potency and time-to-infection of e-mail phishing attacks by Trusteer found 50% of phishing victims' credentials are harvested by cyber criminals within the first 60 minutes of phishing e-mails being received.

YORK, Penn.-Getting better at selling credit life and credit disability has helped Heritage Valley FCU double its non-interest income over the last five years.

MADISON, Wis.-From almost their earliest days, credit unions have looked to generate additional income and meet member needs with the sale of insurance products. Yet the biggest obstacle facing credit unions when it comes to selling those products are CUs themselves, according to industry analysts.