WASHINGTON – In a finding that could be important as Congress considers key legislation for credit unions, a survey conducted by CUNA shows that 50% of registered voters polled would support credit unions over banks if a fight broke out in state legislature, versus 39% for banks.

RIVERWOODS, Ill. – Discover Financial Services said it paid its former parent, Morgan Stanley, $775 million from a $2.75 antitrust settlement with Visa and MasterCard agreed to before the card company was spun off from Morgan Stanley in 2007.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A man who put a gun to the head of an employee at Heartland CU and robbed the credit union of $18,000 last March was sentenced to 18 years in prison last week.

LAKELAND, Fla. – MidFlorida FCU has agreed to renovate the 90-year-old federal building here.

MIDLAND, Mich. – Longview Elementary School and Eastlawn Elementary School received hundreds of school supplies from Dow Chemical Employees' CU and its staff on Presidents' Day yesterday.

BEAUMONT, Texas – Education First FCU yesterday announced a sponsorship deal with Lamar University athletics in exchange for a $1 million contribution to the university.

AMARILLO, Texas – A former member service representative at Texas Plains FCU last week was sentenced to 30 months behind bars for stealing $221,000 from the $25 million credit union.

PARCHMENT, Mich. – First Community FCU, which has grown to $430 million, has applied to state regulators to acquire Education First CU, a troubled $60 million Southgate institution.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Volunteer Corporate CU last week reported losses for 2009 grew to $19.4 million, from $6 million for 2008, mostly due to its exposure to U.S. Central FCU – but VolCorp, one of the few adequately capitalized corporates, does not expect the additional losses to cause it to deplete its members’ capital.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Virginia Corporate FCU, one of a growing number of corporate credit unions where losses are eating into members’ capital, announced the departure of its president and CEO James Hansen, as of this Friday.

PITTSBURGH – An iconic computer expert who once worked for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to detect weaknesses in their online systems last week was sentenced to 13 years in prison for stealing more than 2 million credit card accounts from financial institutions, including Pentagon FCU, and selling the information to wrack up some $86 million in fraudulent charges.

WASHINGTON – Average rates paid by credit unions on all savings deposits continue to fall to record lows through the first six weeks of the year.

WASHINGTON – Educational Systems FCU became the first victim of the massive fraud at CU National Corp. to settle claims with Fannie Mae, setting the stage for others of the more than two dozen credit unions hurt by the $140 million scheme to come to agreement with the housing giant.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Corporate credit unions, especially the smaller corporates that have been largely unaffected by the huge losses on mortgage-backed securities sweeping through the system, are calling on NCUA to temper its proposed reforms, which they fear could make it more difficult for them to compete.

ELGIN, Ill.-Lending Solutions, Inc. is reporting it has developed a new credit-decision model that more accurately projects a potential borrower's financial condition almost a year down the road.

ENDICOTT, N.Y.-Thanks to extremely strong performances in mortgage and commercial lending, Visions FCU here posted a net income of $37 million and 1.5% ROA for 2009, despite a $3-million charge for the corporate assessment.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass.-A program at First Citizens' FCU here for current and former military personnel has brought in thousands for veterans organizations and boosted wallet share at the credit union.

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AUSTIN, Texas-American Share Insurance's announcement of a 0.15% premium assessment has convinced Velocity CU's board that it's best for the credit union to remain with the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

SAN DIEGO-San Diego County CU, one of the few healthy large credit unions in Southern California, said its long-time president, Irene Oberbauer, will retire for health reasons. Oberbauer told her staff that she is being treated for breast cancer and the prognosis is strong.