ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Increasing numbers of credit unions are choosing to cope with NCUA's huge assessments by pushing down their asset size, instead of growing, in order to maintain their critical net worth ratios.

BROCKTON, Mass. – HarborOne CU has contributed $22,000 to local charities, including $8,500 in support of Old Colony YMCA's 2010 "Strong Kids Campaign."

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – Berrien Teachers CU will officially change its name to Honor CU on July 1 and will celebrate the name change and the opening of a new branch in Niles with daylong grand opening celebrations at each of its seven offices.

ATLANTA – Delta Community CU has introduced its own mobile banking program, which it said will provide both consumer and business services members with convenient and secure access to real-time account information through their cell phones, smart phones, PDAs or other mobile devices.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Teachers CU has deployed Vovici’s Voice of the Customer and enterprise feedback management solutions to power its member experience program with the goals of increasing satisfaction, transaction and referral rates.

TULSA, Okla. – Red Crown CU has signed with Harland Financial Solutions to implement the service bureau version of the company’s UltraData Enterprise core processing system.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Credit union giant American Airlines FCU continues to expand outside of the nation’s airports with a double-header of ribbon cuttings for two branches: one at its Fort Worth headquarters and the other in the town of Euless.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A man who robbed the Credit Union of Johnson County and then shot a witness who was following him as he escaped was sentenced yesterday to 28 years in federal prison.

EL PASO, Texas – Call it the latest job in the credit union executive suite: El Paso Employees FCU has hired Elisa Terrazas as social media specialist.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas CU Commission last Friday agreed to cap application fees for short-term payday loans at $20, except for those credit unions who may choose to challenge the safe harbor provision of the state’s usury laws by proving a higher fee is reasonable to allow it to recoup costs for the program.

WASHINGTON – House and Senate conferees have apparently reached an agreement on the controversial interchange amendment to the bank reform bill that would retain a provision establishing the Federal Reserve as a regulator of so-called swipe fees on debit card transactions, a measure that is avidly opposed by credit unions and banks.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Hundreds of credit unions are expected to be driven into the red and dozens will be forced into a net worth restoration plan as a result of the $1 billion corporate credit union stabilization charge assessed by NCUA last week.

WASHINGTON – The credit union lobby this afternoon rejected a proposed deal on the controversial interchange fee amendment to the bank bill, just as congressional leaders are preparing to meet tomorrow to hammer out final language on the provision.

JAMESTOWN, N.D.-Last month 18 employees at First Community CU in Jamestown N.D., and one former employee, literally had their numbers come up. They hit the first five numbers in the Mega Millions lottery, failing only to hit the final ball that would have won them the jackpot.

VIENNA, Va.-At a time when many financial institutions were making loans more difficult for consumers to get, Navy Federal Credit Union took a different tack.

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MSU FCU, East Lansing, Mich., promoted Lea Ammerman to VP of branch operations and elevated Sandra Blanken to VP of contact center.

WALL STREET-The stock prices of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plummeted last week after announcing they had been ordered to delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The NCUA Board approved a $1-billion charge to pay for the corporate credit union bailout, while also disclosing that losses accrued by the National CU Shares Insurance Fund have reached almost $1.1 billion for 2010, presaging another big assessment later this year.