When I started in this business, if the Lead Balloon Corp. had hung up the Going Out of Business sign and you needed comment on how its closure would affect its credit union, you called the Lead Balloon Employees Credit Union. An airline's employees on strike? Append the airline's name with "Employees Credit Union," and you knew who to call.

As I watched the recent British Open golf tournament my thoughts strayed to the predicament facing the financial services industry and how we're rising to the challenge.

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FLOWOOD, Miss. — Experiencing a "shortness of paycheck?" Or perhaps you are suffering from "CARpal tunnel?"

LANSING, Mich. — Cash for Clunkers may have temporarily reduced Invest in America activity, but it's likely boosting CU auto loan volume, according to CUcorp.

WEST JORDAN, Utah — The collections team at Mountain America CU here is using Facebook and MySpace to find members who aren't paying their credit union loans.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A 34-year-old member of Alaska USA FCU man is in custody after he gave a teller his account number and showed her his picture ID before robbing the credit union.

ATLANTA – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta reported yesterday that net income for its second quarter soared 78% to $191.7 million.

BOSTON – The Federal Home Loan bank of Boston said yesterday that losses on its private-label mortgage-backed securities created a $4.2 million loss for its second quarter.

HERNDON, Va. – Northwest FCU said its Northwest FCU Foundation awarded more than $87,000 in scholarships at its annual scholarship awards ceremony and luncheon, honoring the 2009 scholarship winners.

QUINCY, Mass. – Quincy CU has opened a 3,700-square-foot branch in adjacent Weymouth, its first physical expansion outside this city south of Boston, known as the City of Presidents.

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – United Consumers CU has signed with Fiserv to consolidate its card based offerings -credit, debit and ATM transactions on a single gateway service.

DURAND, Mich. – SageLink CU has opened its new home office that was built to look like a historic train depot.

DES MOINES – Veridian CU, the state’s largest credit union, has selected ClairMail to power its new mobile banking offering.

McLEAN, Va. – Mortgage rates moved slightly higher this week, as Treasury yields also rose, according to Freddie Mac.

PEARL RIVER, N.Y. – Palisades FCU is reaching out to members by bringing back a popular program offered last summer that allows borrowers to skip their July and August loan payments.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A member of San Mateo CU who spent her would-be wedding night in jail admitted she stole $35,000 from her credit union to pay for the nuptials.

SEATTLE – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, struggling with low capital, said yesterday it lost another $34.3 million in the second quarter as a result of charges related to its investments in mortgage-backed securities.

DENVER – CRIF, an Italian credit reporting and business information firm, continued its foray into the credit union market with the acquisition of Aimbridge Indirect Lending LLC and its Member Lending Acceptance affiliate.

LAS VEGAS – In yesterday’s NCUA takeover of Community One FCU there was little doubt the troubled credit union’s net worth ratio was far below the critical level set under NCUA’s minimum capital rules.