SEATTLE — Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union has followed up its popular Pay it Forward campaign with a new effort in which it is offering cash prizes to any nonprofit or business in Washington that demonstrates their "cooperative nature."

BATAVIA, N.Y. — A small credit union here is following in the footsteps of major cooperative players by launching its own "Pay It Forward" campaign. With just one branch Tonawanda Valley FCU, headquartered in this town of less than 20,000, is among the smallest to embrace the concept.

MADISON, Wis. — This being International Credit Union Week, Credit Union Journal asked Pete Crear, CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions, for his perspective on global credit union issues.

LIVONIA, Mich. — Having a limited marketing budget for community involvement and wanting to make a big impact, Co-op Services CU decided the best way to spend the money was $100 at a time.

For the 14th consecutive year Credit Union Journal celebrates International Credit Union Week with our Day in the Life Project. On the same day in August credit unions in Columbia, Sri Lanka and all around the U.S. shot photos of events at their credit unions (see link to photo gallery below). Other coverage related to International Credit Union Week includes a look at how three New Zealand Cus have created a common branding campaign; Seattle Metropolitan CU's latest version of the "Pay It Forward" concept; the global perspective on credit unions with WOCCU's Pete Crear; and much more.

DALLAS — Contrary to some perceptions, Mark Fenner, SVP with TNB Card Services is projecting 2009 will be the Year of the Plastic for credit unions. "In the clients that we service, we're seeing credit card growth year over year," Fenner said, noting that growth to be close to 7%, with attrition down 8%.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — While some banks are scrambling to make pricing changes in advance of implementation of the CARD Act, Bill Lehman, VP-portfolio consultant services with CSCU here, believes most CU card-issuers will not be doing the same.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Some CUs may have no choice but to boost the APRs and fees on their credit card programs.

MADISON, Wis. — An end to the guaranteed student loan program will likely hurt a number of credit unions and cause them to re-evaluate their education lending practices. After passing that House of Representatives easily, a bill geared towards shuttering the $150-billion program and bringing all federal loans in-house is expected to sail through the Senate and be signed into law in short order.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — While most credit unions are not adjusting pricing in advance of the CARD Act, Keith Kauffeld, VP-operations with the $464-million Air Academy FCU, and member of the CUNA Operations Sales & Service Council, said that may not be the case for those that have sold their portfolios.

Verify, Verify, Verify. Ogden noted this is especially important in the case of income or employment verification fraud. There are a large number of schemes that fall under this heading, but the general rule is to watch for anomalies in documentation.

CUs must beware of "chunking" schemes, which usually arise from real estate investment clubs. Ogden said the fraud comes when purchasers apply to multiple lenders for financing without disclosing multiple properties are being acquired. Ogden said participants in chunking schemes are recruited at seminars promising to teach people how to "get rich in real estate."

A type of fraud becoming more common is foreclosure protection. Not surprisingly, no one is being "protected," particularly the homeowner. Ogden noted so called "foreclosure specialists" prey on desperate homeowners who are behind on their mortgages and fearful of losing their houses. One of the more common scenarios is the "specialist" promises to work out the loan by buying the home and renting it back to the buyer.

Sources for verifying consumer information include: www.verificationbureau.com; the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, or MARI, at www.marisolutions.com, or MERS, which has fraud prevention tools at www.mersinc.org.

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. — Why would NCUA sell a failed credit union in Reno, Nev., to a credit union 1,996 miles away in Michigan?

TUKWILA, Wash. — Aaron Bresko, VP of lending at the $8.6-billion BECU, and vice-chair of the CUNA Lending Council, is among those who believe credit unions will largely avoid increases in how they price their card products.

LAS VEGAS — For mortgage fraudsters, even a low success ratio can mean a big payoff.

RENO, Nev. — After some nine months of agonizing over how to save Clear Star Financial CU, employees of the once-$175-million CU went from the agony of uncertainty, to certain catastrophe, to the joy of salvation in just one roller coaster of a day.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Credit unions looking for ways to market the pricing advantages they offer on credit cards may find the banking industry doing it for them by early 2010.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — With a bill before Congress to move up the effective date of the consumer protections embedded in the just-passed CARD Act to Dec. 1, a number of banks and card issuers have been raising card APRs as quickly as possible in advance of such a change.