GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Lake Michigan CU said yesterday it is expanding its Lake Michigan Insurance Agency CUSO with plans to acquire Van Tol, Magennis and Lang Inc.

NEWARK, N.J. – Fannie Mae told a federal court yesterday it should dismiss millions of dollars in claims over fraudulent credit union mortgages its bought from defunct U.S. Mortgage Corp. and its CU National unit because it holds legal right to the loans.

SACRAMENTO – The Golden 1 CU, the nation’s sixth largest credit union, became the latest California credit union to erase losses, reporting today it went from a $23.1 million loss in 2009 to $76.1 million net in 2010, not counting a $15.8 million charge for NCUA assessments. The news is further evidence that the state’s credit union crisis is waning, with other California giants also moving from the red to the black in recent days. San Francisco’s Patelco CU went form a $14.6 million 2009 loss to a $24.6 million 2010 net; Kinecta FCU went from a $71.3 million 2009 loss to a $14.6 million 2010 net; Wescom Central CU from a $93.6 million loss to a $2.7 million net; North Island CU from a $52.4 million loss to an $11.4 million net; and Redwood CU from an $11.5 million loss for 2009 to a $6.1 million loss for 2010. Other Golden State credit unions moving from the red to the black last year were: AltaOne CU, and Schools Financial CU. Like the other credit unions, the Golden 1, the state’s second largest credit union, cut provisions for loan and lease losses–the amount moved to its allowance for loan losses for the entire year–by two thirds, from $126.2 million to $42.5 million, a sure signal that bad loans have been squeezed out of its balance sheet.

WALL STREET – NCUA plans to sell another $1.26 billion of its corporate bailout bonds this week, after last week’s successful offering of $1.51 billion worth. The bonds, with the federal guarantee, have provided popular with investors, who have snapped up more than $20 billion worth since NCUA began selling them to finance the liquidation of five failed corporate credit unions in October. The bonds were created from the cash flow, that is the principal and interest payments, on some $50 billion of toxic mortgage-backed securities held by the five corporate failures, U.S. Central FCU, WesCorp FCU, Members United Corporate FCU, Southwest Corporate FCU and Constitution Corporate FCU. The actual bonds are being held in separate trusts by NCUA. The latest offering is of floating-rate bonds that are backed by floating-rate MBS contained in the trust. The bonds are being offered through lead underwriter Barclays Capital.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU has hired Christopher Flynn, former president of Peterborough, N.H.’s Primary Bank, as president and CEO of its PenFed Foundation, one of the most active funders of military charities in the country.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University FCU raised almost $28,000 to benefit MSU students through two annual checks promotions.

KINGSFORD, Mich. – Iron Mountain Kingsford Community FCU said it hired Bradley Swee, president of $57 million Meijer CU in Grand Rapids, as president and CEO of the $72 million credit union.

INDIANAPOLIS – FORUM CU announced that Jeff Welch, its chief financial officer, has been named president and CEO of the $950 million credit union.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – Kemba CU has renewed its membership in the STAR network, naming STAR its preferred provider of PIN-secured debit point-of-sale and ATM access, and adding debit processing from STAR’s parent First Data.

WEST JORDAN, Utah – Mountain America CU has replaced its electronic signature offering with CIC’s newly released SignatureOne Console.

MIRAMAR, Fla. – Tropical Financial CU said yesterday it has contracted with PSCU Financial Services for full service credit processing services.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – Robins FCU is teaming with Flint Energies to offer a 4.99% interest rate on energy efficiency loans to their joint members.

LOS ANGELES – A career criminal who helped steal nearly $80,000 by using a high-powered thermal lance to cut open a Los Angeles FCU ATM was sentenced yesterday to 148 months in prison and ordered to pay a share of nearly $400,000 in restitution.

OREM, Utah – NCUA reported yesterday that continuing loan losses at Family First FCU erased all of the one-time $170 million credit union’s capital last year, leaving it with negative net worth of almost $13 million, the latest big Utah credit union to become insolvent.

MADISON, Wis. – Credit union lending declined another 0.2% in December, after a similar drop in November, pushing lending to a negative 1.43% for 2010, the worst in more than 30 years, according to CUNA.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Technology CU has launched a new jumbo 30-year fixed rate home loan program intended to boost the buying power of homebuyers and homeowners up to $3 million.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – ASI, the lone surviving private deposit insurer for credit unions, told NCUA its proposal to assess a mandatory “voluntary” corporate system resolution charge to its 150 credit unions in nine states and all non-federally insured credit union corporate members is outside of the federal agency’s legal authority and probably illegal under extortion statutes.

WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up. Last year’s Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act , or SAFE Act, requires all residential mortgage loan originators to register, obtain a unique identifier from the registry, and maintain their registrations. Lenders have 180 days, until July 29, to register, after which they may be prohibited from lending. The registry announcement was made by NCUA, the FDIC, Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency Office of Thrift Supervision and Farm Credit Administration. WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up.WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up.

BELOIT, Wis. – First American CU is offering 16 $1,000 scholarships to high school students, as well as 16 $250 “Class of Excellence Awards” to teachers.

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County CU opened its 28th branch location, in Oceanside, near a Wal-Mart.