BOULDER, Colo. – Elevations CU and nearby CU of Denver said they have signed with WhereMembersDrive.com to provide their members with virtual car shopping and financing options.

NEWARK, N.J. – Even as U.S. Mortgage Owner Michael McGrath was pleading guilty to the unauthorized sale of $140 million in credit union mortgages to Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage giant was refusing to give the mortgages back to the aggrieved credit unions.

NEWARK, N.J. – Hours after last week’s guilty plea in the $140 million fraud at U.S. Mortgage Corp., insurers for the bankrupt mortgage company moved to cancel the company’s surety bond, which would foreclose one potential source of recompense for some 30 credit unions victimized in the biggest fraud ever to hit the industry.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – A federal jury on Friday ordered CUNA Mutual Group to pay $200,000 in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages to the estate of a former school teacher who claimed the credit union insurer illegally denied her claims for credit life disability on her home equity loan.

MT. LAUREL, N.J. – PHH Corp. said dissident shareholders Pennant Capital, a hedge fund that has acquired almost 10% of the company’s shares, won two seats on the PHH board last week, turning both the company’s Chairman A.B. Krongard and its CEO Terence Edwards away.

PITTSBURGH – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh on Friday announced a loss of $23.6 million for the first quarter, as it continues to struggle under the weight of private-label mortgage-backed securities.

CHILICOTHE, Ohio – Homeland CU said it has successfully launched Banker’s Academy Unlimited for Credit Unions from Edcomm Banker’s Academy.

FAIRFIELD, Calif. – The Fairfield Housing Authority announced a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher home ownership sale that was financed by Travis CU.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A member of New Process Gear CU was charged Friday with taking advantage of offline ATMs to steal $75,539 even though he had only $5 in his account.

SACRAMENTO – State regulators said two more troubled credit unions, American River HealthPro CU and Alisos CU, are to be merged out.

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Greater Nevada CU, weighed down by an $8 million 2008 loss followed by a $4 million loss for the first quarter, announced Friday it is shuttering two branches and laying off 27 employees.

WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Members United Corporate FCU, which reported a $511 million loss last month, said Friday it is embarking on its second round of lay-offs, eliminating 39 full-time positions and closing its Minnesota office.

NEWARK, N.J. – Hours after last week’s guilty plea in the $140 million fraud at U.S. Mortgage Corp., insurers for the bankrupt mortgage company moved to cancel the company’s surety bond, which would foreclose one potential source of recompense for some 30 credit unions victimized in the biggest fraud ever to hit the industry.

To close the convenience gap with banks that have branches on seemingly every corner, some credit unions are adding hours.

LAS VEGAS — For credit unions in the so-called "sand states" — Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida — their financial foundations are much like a sandcastle lapped by an approaching surf.

The tumbling economy has taken credit unions' collections departments off the back burner and put them front and center. CUs have had to ramp up and rethink the way they handle collections, so Credit Union Journal is exploring the best ways to do just that. In this ongoing series, CU Journal features tips, strategies and advice from in-the-trenches collections officers, as well as expert consultants.

Herb Wegner Award Nominations Due June 19

MADISON, Wis. — Educators CU may soon learn that it will not have to divest its used-car-sales business.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Credit unions that have sold their credit card portfolios are, in general, not very satisfied with their decision to have done so.

LANSING, Mich. — The economy and the automaker bankruptcies haven't slowed Invest in America, which posted its highest monthly sales for GM and Chrysler in May.