JOHNSTOWN, Penn. – Three long-time directors of USSCO Johnstown FCU who lost their bid for reelection last month will get another chance because of a quirk in the credit union’s bylaws.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA is buying ads on the side of buses this summer to tout the safety and soundness of credit union accounts insured by the National CU Share Insurance Fund.

HIGHSTOWN, N.J. – At least 17 credit unions have pledged a total of $50 million to fund low-cost student loans through a new Internet portal.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA has approved so-called shared appreciation loan modifications in which the credit union can share in the appreciation of any property for which it refinances a loan.

An article in Tuesday's Daily Briefing reported that U.S. Central charged off $800,000 of exposure related to Lehman Brothers and is expected to take additional charges. According to NCUA, U.S. Central wrote off all of its exposure to Lehman Brothers interest rate derivative contracts when the firm filed for bankruptcy in fall 2008 and has no residual loss exposure to any prior Lehman Brothers investment.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Service CU gave a $75,000 check yesterday to Homes for Our Troops, a non-profit that helps wounded soldiers returning from battle.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Black Hills FCU has signed with Integrated Media Management to implement the company’s TotaleAtlasWeb, a remote signature capture and secure document delivery solution that provides the mobility to sign documents remotely anywhere, anytime, 24/7 via the Web.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- TCU Insurance Agency, a Teachers CU CUSO, has purchased KL Benefits, an independent insurance agency in Plymouth.

WILLIAMSPORT, Penn. – Horizon FCU is the latest credit union to join the social networking era in an effort to reach young Gen Yers.

MESA, Ariz. – MariSol FCU said it has agreed to acquire Chicanos Por La Causa FCU, a troubled Phoenix credit union it has been managing since last July.

WASHINGTON – The National Federation of CDCUs, BECU and the credit union-sponsored Center for Responsible Lending joined the Ford Foundation yesterday to launch a nationwide effort to promote fair and safe mortgage lending practices, including a certification program.

WASHINGTON – Congressional credit union champion Paul Kanjorski questioned the fairness of the corporate credit union bailout that spares more than 200 privately insured credit unions from paying a share of the $6 billion bill.

LANSING, Mich. – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has awarded CASE CU more than $1 million in an arbitration ruling alleging misrepresentation and omission of investments in collateralized mortgage obligations and CMO Interest Only strips it had acquired from Prudential Equity Group.

HARTFORD, Conn. – More than 20 credit unions have pledged $17.5 million to fund a new student loan program for Connecticut students.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Star One CU announced yesterday a deal to provide private loans to students at the nearby Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Avanta FCU is being forced to change its name because of the threat of a lawsuit from Utah’s Avanta Bank Corp, which has has owned a trademark on the name since 1987.

NEWARK, N.J. – Michael McGrath, the founder and owner of U.S. Mortgage and its CU National Corp., is scheduled to plead guilty in federal court here Thursday to bank fraud and conspiracy charges in what is growing into one of the biggest financial scandals ever to hit credit unions.

NEW YORK – Eight months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings corporate credit unions are chalking up millions of dollars of additional losses on their exposure to the venerable Wall Street brokerage as the huge case continues to unravel in bankruptcy court.

DENVER – A former executive at Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance confessed to stealing the computer access code of a co-worker to redirect $820,000 in annuity payments to two accounts she controlled at Bellco CU and Gateway CU.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – An item in yesterday’s CU Journal Daily Briefing about Allegacy FCU closing a branch incorrectly stated the credit union lost $1 million in the first quarter. It reported a $1 million net for the period.