DALLAS - Count Tim Lerew with the growing number of financial services industry consultants who believe the current economic crisis offers CUs an opportunity for success.

MONTICELLO, Miss. - Economic uncertainty has left Ferguson Federal Credit Union with an interesting dilemma. FFCU has plenty of money to lend, but no one interested in taking out a loan.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Carolina Postal Credit Union here has been placing extra emphasis on training front-lilne staff in how to offer reassurances to members, whether concerned over their own finances or that of the credit union.

SHILOH, Ill. - The automakers' captive finance companies and banks may be feeling the pain of slow car sales, but Catholic and Community Credit Union here has another challenge - too many auto loans.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - When it comes to surviving the financial crisis, members want tips on how to stretch their grocery dollars as much as they do advice on how to manage their debt.

TOMAH, Wis. - Central Wisconsin is about as far away from the boom-gone-bust real estate regions as can be. Yet Tomah Area Credit Union is nevertheless feeling the burden of foreclosures. Job loss, not real estate speculation, has led to a pair of foreclosures for the $44-million credit union, something CEO John Laufenberg has never dealt with before.

AUBURN, Ind. - Volatile commodity prices and the contracting auto sector are cause for concern at Dekalb Financial Credit Union. The vast majority of the $88-million credit union's members are farmers or auto workers; both find themselves in hard times these days as car manufacturing plants continue to close and crop prices swing wildly.

PHOENIX - Desert Schools FCU will join the millions of stores and shoppers starting their Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving by opening its 25 Wal-Mart branches at 5 am.

HARTSELLE, Ala. - Three Montgomery men were arrested after they tried to pull off a $250,000 check fraud at Redstone FCU.

NEW YORK - Three Russian nationals pleaded guilty to helping engineer a $5-million ATM theft scheme, as much as $2 million of which was stolen from Citibank accounts.

Minnesota Credit Union Foundation, St. Paul, Minn., elected Chuck Albrecht, Mary Hansen, Lynn Kothe, Krisi Mukomela and Judy Root to its board.

WASHINGTON - Secondary mortgage market giant Fannie Mae, operating under federal conservatorship since September, reported a $29-billion loss for the third quarter last week, bringing year-to-date losses to a staggering $34.5 billion and increasing the likelihood it will need to tap federal bailout funds.

DALLAS - With few exceptions, credit unions should be comfortable letting net income decline in the current market, according to Bill Hampel, who is urging CUs to be level headed-headed in responding to economic pressures.

WASHINGTON - With growing unrealized losses on their mortgage securities, corporate credit unions are tapping into additional sources of liquidity to help tide them over until the markets turn up.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Education announced steps last week to add liquidity to the student loan market by buying up more loans that it backs.

If my arguments in a previous column did not convince you to remove reports from the consent agenda, here's the next best thing: clarify which items on the consent agenda the board approves and which it does not. For example, the chair could say, "Is there any objection to approving the consent items - minutes and other proposals - and acknowledging the reports listed there? ...There being none, show the respective items approved and acknowledged."

Partnership - this concept is certainly nothing new for credit unions. In fact, it's really one of the many forms of cooperative behavior that has made credit unions what they are today. Corporate credit unions also have long benefited from sharing information and ideas with each other - despite competition that has become a part of our landscape in recent years.

WASHINGTON - In a major about-face, the Treasury Department last week announced it will not be using the $700 billion approved by Congress last month to buy distressed mortgage assets as it had planned to do all along, effectively eliminating credit unions from the government's financial bailout plans.

NOVEMBER

Have you found an effective way to tell your credit union's story, or the credit union story itself? The 4th Annual Frankie Awards are now calling for entries. The awards recognize credit unions that have found an innovative way to explain what they are, how they're unique, and why it should matter to members and non-members alike. As always, the Frankies have kept the barriers to entry conveniently low. All you have to do is send an explanation of how you've been telling your story, and attach any supporting marketing materials. The Frankie Awards are priced at the credit union-discounted price of FREE! Deadline is Dec. 31. Send your entry to fdiekmann@cujournal.com.