WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There may never have been a better year than 2009 to highlight your credit union’s difference.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Park Community FCU is reporting it closed more than $6 million in auto loans via a one-week promotion called “The Monster Rate Special.”

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Connecticut’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is inviting Credit Union Journal readers to participate in research regarding their needs and concerns regarding financial management services within online banking.

WASHINGTON – Credit Union Student Choice, a CUSO that provides turn-key private student lending services to more than 90 credit unions, has entered into a partnership with myCUmortgage, a wholly-owned CUSO of Wright-Patt Credit Union that provides mortgage services to credit unions throughout the Midwest.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut’s Attorney General said his state will join Ohio in filing suit against credit rating companies for what he called “negligent, reckless and incompetent work” in grading debt purchased by states’ pension funds.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – OMNI Community Credit Union is taking the traditional CU annual dividend as an opportunity to highlight the credit union difference during the ongoing economic slump, touting what it used to call its Special Dividend as the credit union’s version of an economic stimulus package.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Credit Union League has withdrawn its application to purchase the $16-million, Tucson, Ariz.-based CreditCard National Bank.

MADISON, Wis. — More members above the age of 55, many driven out of the workforce by the economy, are turning to the credit union for assistance.

HARRISBURG, Penn.-The Pennsylvania CU Association's board has voted to sell 60% of its shares in Credit Union Service Centers, provider of shared branching services, to CO-OP Financial Services in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. CO-OP Financial Services is the parent company to Georgia-based CUSC.

FALL RIVER, Mass.-Fall River Municipal Credit Union has opened one of its branches on Sundays. The credit union's CEO, Matthew Schondek, was quoted in a local media report as saying the decision was based on feedback from members who were seeking expanded hours and access to the credit union. The branch is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

TACOMA, Wash. — A stringent focus on maximizing efficiency and establishing a solid product development system based on member feedback has helped Sound CU here become one of the best performing, large credit unions in the country.

INDIANAPOLIS — Don't suggest to FORUM CU that growth via SEG marketing is an outdated strategy. That "old school" approach to expansion is responsible for more than half of the $1-billion CU's growth over the last 19 years.

AFG Integrates With RouteOne

December

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA announced it has assigned Kent Buckham, who was moved aside as chief corporate credit union examiner amid last year's implosion of U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU, to be the first director of its Office of Consumer Protection.

SAN DIMAS, Calif. — A group of seven natural-person credit unions filed suit against the former management and directors of WesCorp FCU in state court last week over the failure of the one-time $32-billion corporate.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Growing losses and failures among credit unions are expected to result in additional charges assessed credit unions of as much as $3 billion next year, agency officials said last week.

WASHINGTON-The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions is pressing its case for regulatory relief and enhanced access to capital.

* Hearings

Fremont FCU, Fremont, Ohio, promoted Abby Slemmer to West Branch Office Manager.