LOS ANGELES – State regulators closed tiny Second Baptist Church CU, the eighth credit union to fail in California this year.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Members of Sarasota Coastal CU approved the merger of the ailing one-time $240 million credit union into Achieva CU at a special meeting Monday night, creating a regional giant with more than $800 million in assets.

LAS VEGAS – Nevada FCU, fighting the effects of the state’s deepening recession, this week said it is laying off 10% of its workers, 30 employees, to help combat growing losses.

PHOENIX – As with the CEOs of other problem credit unions, Arizona FCU’s Ron Westad has a dilemma – should he continue to reduce his size to improve his net worth ratio, which might hurt his credit union’s chances to take full advantage of an economic rebound when it comes?

NEW LONDON, Conn. – NCUA has tied last year’s failure of New London Security FCU here to fraud by its investment manager – who the regulator believes siphoned as much as $12 million from the $12.7 million institution.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU members via the SECU Foundation have pledged $500,000 to the Vital Connections Capital Campaign for expansion of the Hospice and Palliative CareCenter in Winston-Salem, N.C.

CLEVELAND – The $115 million Ohio Educational CU has become a member of Credit Union 24, the credit union-owned ATM and point-of-sale network.

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. – Wings Financial CU, the state’s largest credit union, this week opened its doors to more than 3 million people in the Twin Cities area, successfully switching from an airlines industry credit union.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – MCT FCU is holding a video contest for all students who attend an elementary, middle, or high school in Montgomery County with a chance to win $500 by answering the question, "Why do you need to save money?"

MT. LAUREL, N.J. – PHH Corp., operator of the biggest mortgage bank for credit unions, yesterday announced the hiring of Jerome Selitto, a long-time executive in the mortgage industry, as its new president and CEO.

SAN FRANCISCO – Visa Inc. yesterday reported net income for its fiscal fourth quarter of $514 million, compared to a loss of $365 million for last year’s fourth quarter – when the cards giant made a large payment on an antitrust settlement.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv yesterday said net income for its third quarter rose 47% to $115 million, based on greater cost efficiencies and a 7% decline in expenses, even as revenues declined by 4%.

DULUTH, Ga. – ATM manufacturer NCR Corp. said it plans to cut up to 10% of its workforce – as many as 2,000 employees – to reduce costs after reporting its third-quarter profit tumbled 81%.

CHICAGO – Thousands of angry protestors marched the city streets and displayed effigies of the nation’s leading bankers outside the American Bankers Association’s annual convention yesterday to protest the billions of dollars in taxpayer funds going to the banking bailout.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee credit union filed suit against CUNA Mutual Group claiming the credit union insurer should be responsible for millions of dollars of failed loans approved under the credit union’s former president.

In this week's special report, a roundtable of technology experts explore the high-tech goblins involved in online fraud. Other topics include how one CU bypassed traditional mobile banking and went straight to Twitter for mobile banking, how one CU has improved the use of business intelligence, and why another is keeping an open mind about closed software.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University FCU FCU has become the first credit union in Michigan to allow members to close on their home electronically.

WHITEHALL, Mich. – HarborLight CU and Whitehall High School have teamed up to open the second White Lake Area student-run credit union branch.

FAIRFAX, Va. – Apple FCU’s new student-run branch will not only serves students and faculty at Battlefield High School but also serve as a resource to help expand the horizons of special education students within the school.

NEW BOSTON, Va. – Halifax County Community FCU has hired the Rev. William J. Colman as its president of the tiny credit union-succeeding Williams E. Colman -no relation.