* WAUWAUTOS, Wis. – In an early edition of a story on Central State Mortgage in the March 12 Credit Union Journal Daily news incorrectly stated that Guardian CU was taken over by state regulators was incorrect. It was Prime Financial CU.

VISTA, Calif. - In another response to economic conditions, Bluepoint Solutions, a provider of electronic image-based item processing and electronic document management software, has unveiled a new rental program purchasing option for its Teller RDC and Receipt Processing product suite. The company said the rental program will significantly reduce up-front costs and speed ROI on the sophisticated technologies. The program involves a complete teller line RDC and receipt processing solution for a monthly per-workstation fee, and makes a capital expenditure an operational expense, Bluepoint noted. At the completion of the rental contract, the credit union acquires ownership of all hardware.

RALEIGH, N.C. – SECU members via the SECU Foundation have provided a grant of $750,000 to Home Health and Hospice Care, Inc. (3HC) for the expansion of Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The grant will be used to expand Kitty Askins by 13,000 square feet, increasing it from a 12 to a 24-bed facility. The new wing will be named SECU House at Kitty Askins. k

MONTEREY, Calif.–The California/Nevada League has now created a working draft of its letter in response to NCUA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the corporate stabilization plan, and is now planning to take it aound the state in a series of three meetings for additional input from credit unions. League CEO Bill Cheney called the "ANPR perhaps the most important since I’ve been league president, and maybe the most important of my carreer." The league hopes to have its final draft concluded by the end of March when it will provide its input to NCUA.

MONTEREY, Calif.–The federal bailout of large banks may be having an unforeseen consequence: creating new commonalities between community banks and credit unions. William Haraf, deputy commissioner with California’s Department of Financial Institutions, said 155 of the 210 banks the DFI supervises applied for TARP funds. Of those, half were approved and handed off to Treasury, and off those only half actually received funds. In all, California banks have received about $1.2 billion in the federal bailout effort. "What I found out in the course of this project is the standards community banks were held to in order to access TARP funds wer much different than large financial institutions," Haraf said. "There are many more affinities between the community banks we supervise and the credit unions we supervise than there are between the community banks and the large banks."

LAS VEGAS – Community One FCU said it has begun a new campaign centered on free online services, which they’ve dubbed eServices.

EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Area Teachers FCU said yesterday it has agreed to move its 25,000 signature and PIN debit accounts along with 5,000 credit accounts to PSCU Financial Services.

On April 1, Gesa CU will roll out its new business member program, including checking and savings accounts, lending, a debit card, and a business credit card, to target companies operating in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Wenatchee.

TULSA, Okla. – A former assistant manager of the Mayes County FCU in Pryor, now known as Red Crown FCU, was sentenced last week to 63 months in prison, with 60 months suspended, and ordered to repay $1.6 million she stole from the $28 million credit union.

NEWARK, N.J. – The federal bankruptcy court yesterday named seven credit unions managers to the unsecured creditors’ committee for CU National Mortgage/US Mortgage Corp., which apparently only did business with credit unions.

WASHINGTON – The Senate appeared ready yesterday to delay a vote on the so-called cramdown bill for several weeks after an important senator rejected a compromise backed by credit unions that would limit the measure to subprime and other non-traditional mortgages.

In the March 12 edition of Credit Union Journal's Daily Briefing, a story about the failure Central States Mortgage Corp. erroneously reported that Guardian CU, West Allis, Wis., had been taken over by state regulators the previous week. Guardian CU has not been taken over by the state regulators.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.–GrooveCar has joined the Invest in America program that is offering special pricing and rates on GM and Chrysler automobiles.

LAS VEGAS–Despite operating in one of the most distressed markets in the country, Clark County CU not only made a profit in 2008, it returned a dividend of more than $2.8 million to its members and maintained capital of more than 10%.

NAPERVILLE, Ill.–ICUL Service Corporation, a CUSO of the Illinois CU League that serves 2,000 credit unions across 45 states, has entered into an issuance referral and service provider agreement with Discover Financial Services to allow its member credit unions to issue credit and debit products on the Discover Network.

Two-Decades of Community Car Sales At End

EL PASO, Texas–While many business continue to complain about a credit squeeze, El Paso Area Teachers FCU reported loan demand is sufficient enough to warrant the opening of its first business services department. In addition to loan products, businesses are also be offered deposit products, including savings, checking, MMAs and certificates. The department will be headed up by Manager Albert Arellano.

SUPERIOR, Wis.–Superior Choice Credit Union has filed a lawsuit against NCUA over the payout it received as part of the collapse of Norlarco Credit Union in 2006.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.–Pledging its support to credit unions that realize the opportunity a down economy offers for growth, Credit Union Journal has assembled a package of attractive discounts to ensure as many people as possible can attend Grow Show 2009.

WASHINGTON–While its prospects may be dim, a bill in Congress to cap credit cards APRs had been dropped, with its sponsor citing credit unions’ ability to offer lower-rate loans as a counter to bank complains that such a limit will much lending unprofitable.