MILWAUKEE-The ongoing financial crisis is good news for credit unions, says Ralph La Macchia, president of La Macchia Group.

BOSTON-Another suspect in the hacking of wireless systems at TJX Cos. and several other retailers that caused significant credit card data breaches has pleaded guilty to identity theft charges.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Federally insured credit unions will not be charged a premium to increase the coverage of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to $250,000 per account.

KENNEBEC, Maine-KV FCU's board has formally voted in favor of converting to a bank in order to merge with Kennebec Savings Bank, bringing the conversion and merger one step closer to fruition.

MADISON, Wis.-The near-trillion-dollar investment by the federal government in the U.S. financial system was the right move, but it won't stave off an ongoing recession in the near-term, according to a survey of credit union economists. What's having an effect on CUs and their members is a "de-leveraging" of significant debt that won't be resolved until a troubled housing market gets back on its feet, those same economists told CU Journal, noting the current scenario is rewriting some long-held economic views.

APPLE VALLEY, Calif.-With many financial institutions in trouble, bad news travels fast-and sometimes incorrectly, in the case of High Desert FCU, based here.

SAN FRANCISCO-Zopa, the person-to-person lending initiative imported from the United Kingdom last December to much fanfare, announced it is pulling out of the U.S., leaving partnerships it forged with six credit unions on the ropes.

DENVER-Denver Community CU has signed with Secure Identity Systems to conduct an Initial Risk Assessment and assemble a Policies and Procedures Manual, two critical steps towards compliance with the Federal Reserve's Red Flags rules.Initial Risk Assessment to look at the provisions of the FACT Act and Red Flag ruling, and determine how the organizations' current ID protection strategies meet those requirements. This includes evaluation of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements, information security, identity theft risk factors, and current programs. Key gaps and strategies for mitigating identity theft risks are also outlined during this process.

LIVONIA, Mich.-Co-op Services CU held six gas giveaway events over the past two months in partnership with gas stations located near a credit union branch, each time offering gas discounted by 25 cents a gallon to neighborhood drivers.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-SAFE C4U said it has been chosen by Intuit to test the company's new online system that allows members to manage accounts between multiple financial institutions.

HARRISBURG, Penn.-The Pennsylvania CU Association is preparing to launch an online service that allows buyers and sellers of member business loan participations to connect and exchange information within a secure environment.

GHS Federal Credit Union, Norwich, N.Y., named Hilary M. Wilcox branch manager.

EVENTS

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA ruled that federal credit unions may not team with an owner of ATMs to provide third-party cash replenishment services.

WASHINGTON-Corporate credit unions, saddled with billions of dollars in distressed mortgage securities, have joined the banks in a call for reform of accounting rules that require them to regularly change the value of their holdings based on market conditions-the practice known as fair value, or mark-to-market, accounting.

WASHINGTON-The Treasury Department, which took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last month, is directing the two secondary mortgage market giants to start buying $40 billion a month of distressed mortgage securities in order to recreate the failing market.

WASHINGTON-As it did in a controversial House primary in Maine last summer, CUNA reported last week it has launched its own independent campaign ads for two House candidates in the Midwest.

MANCHESTER, N.H.-On Nov. 24, 1908, in a first floor office of a three-story, hillside house on Notre Dame Ave. that overlooked the local textile mills, Joseph Boivon accepted the very first deposit into America's very first credit union.

PSCU Unveils Mobile Rate Search

In your Oct. 8 online Credit Union Journal you attempt to raise concerns about corporate credit unions issuance of commercial paper. Since you mention Southeast Corporate as issuing commercial paper, we would like to respond with some facts that were not apparent in your story.