LIVE OAK, Texas-Randolph-Brooks FCU is using the same process improvement strategies to beat competing financials that the Japanese used to gain market share on the Big Three automakers.

February

WHEELING, Va.-The former president of Center Valley FCU agreed to plead guilty to stealing as much as $9 million from the $17 million credit union as part of a deal that will dissuade prosecutors from charging her husband and grown children in the scheme.

SAN ANTONIO-Security Service FCU has signed with Stripes LLC to provide its members with access to ATMs at 500 Stripes and Town & Country convenience stores in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The deal will provide members of the $5 billion credit union with service at a reduced fee of 50 cents per transaction. Stripes currently partners with nine different credit unions that offer ATM service to their members.

WARRENVILLE, Ill.-Nearly a full year after we said goodbye to 2008, Members United Corporate FCU finally was able to close the books on it as well, posting a $1.2 billion loss for the year in a financial statement released on New Year's Eve 2009-10.

FOND du LAC, Wis.-Marine CU has acquired First Service CU, an ailing $34 million credit union in Milwaukee. First Service reported a loss of $827,000 for 2008 and a loss of $1.3 million for the first three quarters of 2009. Marine CU has $405 million in assets and reported net income of $2.1 million for the first nine months of 2009.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich.-OMNI Community CU will be distributing $40,000 throughout the year to local non-profits through its "OMNI Gives Back" grant program. Organizations may apply for the grants at www.omnigivesback.org. The $230-million credit union recently distributed $600,000 to its members as a cashback rebate.

WASHINGTON-Talks appeared at a standstill over the New Year's holiday on the recovery of some $125 million of credit union mortgages fraudulently sold by U.S. Mortgage/CU National Mortgage to Fannie Mae.

RALEIGH, N.C.-A card-skimming spree that affected a number of State Employees' Credit Union members could have been a major public relations disaster, but quick action on the part of the CU turned it into a teaching opportunity for consumers.

ALBANY, N.Y.-A new state law will exempt state-chartered credit unions from the state's special additional mortgage recording tax, which already exempts federal charters.

Events

Online banking provider Geezeo recently created a Product Advisory Committee and named Jim Craig, Ali Shafai, Andrew Voorhees and Alex Sion to the board.

LIVE OAK, Texas-Years ago Randolph-Brooks FCU rerolled calculator tapes and used the other side. While that old savings trick is nearly as obsolete as the machines themselves, the simple philosophy of not wasting resources runs deep through the $3.6-billion credit union and is fueling its record expansion.

The Japanese word "kaizen" means "improvement." It is a philosophy that sees improvement in productivity as a gradual and methodical process.

LIVE OAK, Texas-Randolph-Brooks FCU has numerous cost-reduction efforts underway. Here are a few that have significantly contributed to the millions the CU has shaved off its operating costs.

ATLANTA-Credit unions looking to improve efficiencies should first make sure they have a scorecard to track results.

Lean Six Sigma combines the speed improvements that come from using Lean principles with the quality improvements that come from using Six Sigma.

HARRISBURG, Penn.-Credit unions of all sizes scrambled to stay in compliance with a bevy of new regulations proposed or enacted in 2009 and are bracing for more in 2010. As a result, many smaller credit unions have had to get innovative in meeting compliance demands.

HARRISBURG, Penn.-The Pennsylvania CU Association's Compliance Cavalry lists the top ten issues facing this state's credit unions and how to address them.

GLENDALE, Calif.-NCUA's request to be named the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Western Corporate FCU's former board and a number of current and former employees is all the more reason to believe the case filed by seven natural person CUs is a strong one, one CU plaintiff suggested.