SALT LAKE CITY – A man was arrested and charged in connection with last week’s robbery at Mountain America CU Sunday after he tried to steal two beers from a store and broke a clerk's finger in the process, according to police.

NEW YORK – Viewpointe, an electronic image exchange owned by big banks, has agreed to acquire PaymentsNation, a Dallas-based provider of electronic settlements and automatic clearing house services.

RICHARDSON, Texas – Texans CU said it has severed its last ties with Texans Commercial Capital, a member business loan CUSO it founded four years ago.

LOS ANGELES – First City CU said a special checking account it has established has attracted more than 1,000 accounts and also raised more than $26,000 for three local charities.

HOUSTON – Smart Financial CU yesterday said it has agreed to move the processing of its PIN debit cards to TNB Card Services, which currently processes the $400 million credit union’s signature debit transactions and manages its credit card program.

MAUMEE, Ohio – Glass City FCU yesterday said it has become the first Ohio credit union to contract with Dynamic Card Solutions for the company’s CardWizard instant card issue and PIN services.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – NCUA yesterday told a federal court here it will not object to an order recommended by the American Bankers Association to void a disputed community charter issued to three area credit unions the court found lacking in supporting evidence.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is expected to recommend several reforms to credit union rules to, among things, bring broad disclosures of financial statements, bylaws and executive compensation to the average member.

WALL STREET – Sunday’s federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had immediate benefits for credit unions and other institutional investors as there was a massive rally in the price of mortgage securities yesterday.

GREENEVILL, Tenn. – A former teller at the Rogersville branch of Appalachian Community FCU has entered a plea agreement to a charge she embezzled $105,900.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A prison parolee who evaded police for two years before his May arrest on Friday was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for an identity theft scheme that used stolen Social Security numbers to obtain fake memberships at The Golden 1 CU.

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – Business Lending Group, a member business loan CUSO owned by four local credit unions, announced the hiring of Linda Kennedy as its new president and CEO.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said deposits made by the state of Wisconsin’s College Savings Program under its 529 Savings Plans into credit unions are insured up to $100,000 by the National CU Share Insurance Fund.

WOODLAND, Calif. – Yolo FCU announced that it is offering low-cost loans for home owners who are interested in installing photovoltaic solar systems.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Kern Schools FCU last week said it has signed with Tfactor to install the company’s Internet-based training system, called CULearn.

SAN DIEGO – Financial 21 Community CU, a $140 million credit union that broke back into the black in the second quarter after a first quarter loss, has applied to state regulators to merge, one of several ailing California credit unions seeking combinations.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Polish and Slavic FCU last week broke ground on its first branch in central New Jersey, in the capital city of Trenton.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Eight credit unions have agreed to help plug the growing hole in student loan funding by investing $100 million in securities to fund new Stafford loans for Illinois students.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Alliant CU, a Chicago-based credit union founded by United Airlines, is poised to complete its acquisition of troubled Kaiperm FCU, giving the $5.7 billion credit union a physical presence in the San Francisco Bay Area where it has more than 25,000 members.

WASHINGTON – The federal government on Sunday moved again to shore up the troubled mortgage market by taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two key players in the secondary mortgage market.