RESTON, Va.-The recent mega-mergers in the banking industry will likely fail to knock off Bank of America from the top of the online banking heap, expert analysis concluded.

WASHINGTON-The credit union lobby turned its efforts to the Senate last week after the House passed a bill over its objections that would allow troubled homeowners to ask a bankruptcy court to amend the terms of their mortgages.

ST. LOUIS, Mo.-The Missouri Credit Union Association will distribute $500,000 to affiliated credit unions to help its member credit unions address issues surrounding the volatile economy and stimulate growth.

SAN FRANCISCO-Patelco Credit Union is closing four branches as part of a strategy of concentrating on its core service area, a spokesperson said.

TORONTO, Canada-While credit unions are trying to keep their fees low despite economic pressures, one study shows many banks are having to hike fees.

CUs are facing unprecedented economic challenges on a number of fronts, so the vendors that serve the industry are finding ways to help, offering special deals, creating new programs and other initiatives in direct response to the economic crisis.

ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, Ga.-Non-sufficient funds fees continued to grow at a substantial rate at credit unions and banks last year, serving as a reliable source of income, even as net interest margin continued to compact, according to a new study.

TUCSON, Ariz.-Desert Energy CU said it intends to voluntarily merge into Pima FCU, pending approval by its members and both NCUA and the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions.

APPLE VALLEY, Calif.-Nine former employees at High Desert FCU who lost their jobs after the credit union was placed into conservatorship by NCUA have banded together to form a support group. It's also led to some national attention.

DALLAS-Comerica Bank's business customers can now offer their employees an option for managing their health care expenses as the $66 billion bank has crafted Comerica HealthReserve, a health savings account. "With healthcare costs continuing to outpace inflation, the Comerica HealthReserve account enables us to offer our business customers a chance to lower their expenses while helping their employees," the bank said.

NEW YORK-Loanio, Inc joined the swelling ranks of peer-to-peer lenders that have recently surfaced to try and take advantage of "underserved" markets such as college students and individuals with bad or no credit histories.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.-Digital FCU, New England's largest credit union, announced it has cut almost 30 employees, amid a 9% decline in net income for 2008.

TRENTON, N.J.-Three credit unions and two banks became the first financial institutions to seek recompense through the courts against Heartland Payment Systems for one of the biggest credit card breaches ever.

CUDAHY, Wis.-A week after the break-up of the merger between Prime Financial CU and Guardian CU, state regulators took financially ailing Prime Financial under conservatorship.

WASHINGTON-Credit unions have until April 6 to file comments on NCUA's proposed Corporate Stabilization Plan, and NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland outlined several areas on which the agency is particularly interested in getting CU input.

MT. PLEASANT, Penn.-Though housing values continue to decline, sales volumes are up significantly in south Florida and a positive trend in foreclosures could help bring an end to the worst housing slide in the state's history. According to new numbers from Default Research, foreclosure lists pending fell about 12% in January compared to the previous month. Miami-Dade county saw a 22% drop, Palm Beach's foreclosure listings fell 15%, and Broward saw a 4% decrease. The new numbers come after Gov. Charlie Crist asked financial institutions to implement a 45-day voluntary moratorium on foreclosures in December, meaning those numbers could rise again very soon.

Knowing CUs have been-and would continue to be-inundated with a lot of bad news, CUNA President Dan Mica asked his staff to come up with five pieces of good news to share with credit unions. Among the good news CUNA came up with for Mica to share:

WASHINGTON-The finger-pointing and hand-wringing credit unions are doing over the economic challenges facing them could end up doing almost as much damage as the 62-basis point assessment that sparked it all.

WASHINGTON-How to resolve the corporate credit union losses overshadowed nearly every aspect of CUNA's GAC, but there were a few other things mentioned along the way, including:

First Financial FCU, Wall, N.J., elected Gordon Holder to its board.