ANTIGO, Wis. – CoVantage CU paid its members a $1.5 million patronage dividend, with the payout divided between loan rebates and additional savings dividends.

DALLAS – An Internet technology consulting firm has filed suit against InTouch CU and 32 other financial firms, claiming the firms are infringing on its patent for authenticating a website or related services.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Quorum FCU said it has entered a timeshare receivables purchase facility with Bluegreen Corp. of Boca Raton, Fla., with which it will acquire timeshare notes receivable on a non-recourse basis.

INDIANAPOLIS – A thriving market for loans backed by life insurance policies has proven problematic for FORUM CU, which has been stuck with defaulted loans it purchased by a now-defunct Michigan credit union, Capital Community CU.

BURBANK, Calif. – Lockheed FCU will celebrate next week’s 100th birthday of its oldest member and her identical twin – just as the city of Burbank is preparing its own centennial celebration.

PLANO, Texas – CEO confidence at the nation’s largest credit unions hovered in the depths at the end of the year – just as it did in the beginning, according to the Southwest Corporate CEO Confidence Survey.

WASHINGTON – As 2010 ended, Freddie Mac’s survey for the week ending Dec. 30 shows most rates were higher on a net basis during the volatile period, but the popular 30-year still is likely to end 2010 below the year’s highs.

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department is converting $5.5 billion of its preferred stock in auto-finance company Ally Financial Inc. into common stock so the federal government will be in a better position to exit the investment.

NEWARK, Del. – DPL Federal Credit Union has changed its name to Community Powered FCU.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After 38 years with the credit union, Larry D. Morgan has retired as president of APCO Employees CU.

SALT LAKE CITY – Maxamum Inc. here believes it has a novel answer to a long-standing lending paradox.

ESPOO, Finland – After making its Angry Birds the dominant game on two mobile platforms, developer Rovio Mobile Ltd. is taking flight in a new line: payments.

POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State basketball arena here has a new court thanks to a partnership between the Idaho State Athletics Department and Idaho Central Credit Union.

CONYERS, Ga. – Two members of the Army National Guard who allegedly robbed a branch of Georgia’s Own Credit Union were arrested after a man and his wife saw them running from the branch with guns and a large bag, and chose to follow them.

BROCKTON, Mass. – HarborOne Credit Union here has raised the ire of number of groups and received media attention after some of its members’ Visa debit cards were breached and it urged all of its members to contact their local congressman and urge that laws be changed so that retailers are liable for the cost of replacing cards.

WASHINGTON – With a new Congress to begin its work on Wednesday, much of the attention will be on a Republican bid to repeal the health care legislation passed by the previous Congress.

WASHINGTON – When it comes to issues related to financial services, the 112th Congress is expected to focus on, among other things, the budget and activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s plans for resolving systemically important institutions, implementation of the Volcker Rule, and new derivatives regulation.

LAKE BLUFF, Ill. — Credit unions will miss a huge opportunity to take business from big banks in 2011 if they eliminate free checking.

LOS ANGELES — Parties involved in the lawsuit filed against the former board and management team of failed Wescorp are still sorting through their options following a tentative decision in the case.

LIVONIA, Mich. — A petition circulated online by the head of a Michigan CUSO has sparked debate over how CUs should make their voices heard to NCUA and the Fed, while also revealing how angry many leaders are with their federal regulator.