Nominations For NAFCU Board Close Soon

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The nation's credit unions reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 2008-a whopping $2 billion-the first quarterly loss ever for the industry, NCUA reported last week.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco last night reported a $103 million loss for its fourth quarter, due to a $590 charge for other-than-temporary impaired mortgage backed securities.

LENEXA, Kan. – U.S. Central FCU posted its final financials for 2008 yesterday, showing the massive $1.2 billion charge for December for its troubled mortgage securities, creating a $1.1 billion loss for the year and casting doubt over the future of the central bank for credit unions.

STAFFORD, Va. – Navy FCU said it opened its new branch at the Quantico Corporate Center on Monday.

HUDSON, N.Y. – In an effort to better reach members in rural Greene County, Columbia-Green FCU plans to introduce a mobile mini-branch to one of the credit union’s select groups.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Members of Summit CU voted Tuesday to merge their troubled credit union into Avanta FCU, to create the state’s third largest credit union with almost $200 million in assets.

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.

GLENDALE, Calif. – NCUA cited Glendale Area Schools FCU for running an ad on its website that negatively compares ratings at local banks by name to its own ratings, and called on the credit union to pull the ad.

McLEAN, Va. – Mortgage rates inched up just slightly this week amid sagging consumer confidence and lower sale prices for existing homes, Freddie Mac said yesterday.

BOSTON – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston announced it will cease paying dividends after mounting unrealized losses on its mortgage backed holdings forced it to report a $73.2 million loss for 2008.

WASHINGTON – Operating as a ward of the federal government, Fannie Mae posted a massive $25.2 billion loss in the fourth quarter, blaming its abysmal performance on asset- and derivative-related writedowns.

WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders agreed yesterday to vote the so-called mortgage cramdown bill as part of deposit insurance reform, ensuring a difficult time for a conflicted credit union lobby as the bill moves to a vote by the full House next week.

WAUWATOSA, Wis. – A state court issued a $2.7 million judgment last week for U.S. Bank against Dick Jungen, the creator of Central States Mortgage who was fired as CEO of the mortgage CUSO last year.

NEWARK, N.J. – The FBI is investigating claims of a massive fraud at U.S. Mortgage Corp., the privately held owner of C.U. National Mortgage, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Corporate One FCU reported yesterday that unrealized losses on its books grew by another $21 million in December to a total of $328.1 million, one of seven corporates with large holdings of underwater securities.

BILLINGS, Mont. – A former Billings man who used a fake credit report to defraud two credit unions of about $37,000 will spend three years in federal prison on bank fraud charges.

SAN DIEGO – Another sign of the times: Symitar has announced its annual Educational Conference for its Episys clients will be held virtually.

MINNEAPOLIS – Fair Isaac & Co., the maker of the ubiquitous FICO score, announced yesterday it has been awarded eight new patents for inventions in fraud detection, search technology, rules management and bioanalytics.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv, which acquired electronic payments provider CheckFree Corp. last year, announced this week it is eliminating the CheckFree name and brand.