HONOLULU – Aloha Pacific FCU has become the first financial institution in Hawaii to introduce a “green” auto loan program.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Northeast CU last week announced special loans to help all homeowners and renters in the community affected by July 24 storms to recover from physical losses to their homes and apartments.

TYLER, Texas – Kelly Community FCU shut all four of its branches Friday after a caller phoned in a bomb threat but didn’t say where.

PORTLAND, Maine – A radio ad campaign launched last week by Maine’s credit unions promotes the benefits of shared branching during the summer travel months.

WASHINGTON – The Senate – in a rare Saturday session – approved a massive housing rescue package, which includes provisions to bail out both troubled homeowners and secondary mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Federal banking regulators on Saturday said they shuttered two banks owned by First National Bank Holding Company and sold them to Mutual of Omaha, the Nebraska insurance giant that operates a banking subsidiary.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA last week said it paid $107.4 million to Patelco CU to induce the San Francisco credit union giant to acquire the remnants of Cal State 9 CU, the biggest credit union failure ever.

LAS VEGAS - The fallout continues from the failure of IndyMac Bancorp and credit unions are attempting to capitalize on the fallout hitting other banks.

MADISON, Wis. - Recent changes to the federal student loan program has driven away a lot of the players in the student loan market, creating a void in the market that credit unions can leverage into a real opportunity, according to a number of student lending experts.

PHOENIX - Officials of Arizona FCU were notifying the credit union’s 220,000 members last week of the financial health of the institutions in the face of a $42.5-million mid-year loss, almost $30 million of it in the second quarter.

LOWELL, Mass. - Understanding that members’ ability to repay their CU obligations often revolves around the mortgage – whether the home loan is with the credit union or not–NMTW Community CU has dedicated a month to counseling members about mortgage foreclosure and how to avoid it.

NCUA Adopts American Bald Eagle As Its Seal

PHILADELPHIA - In a decision that could have broad ramifications, a federal appeals panel has overturned a lower court ruling that said Pennsylvania State Employees CU did not have standing to sue BJ’s Wholesale Club and Fifth Third Bank over a 2004 credit card breach at that cost credit unions tens of millions of dollars to plug.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Credit unions that are shareholders in Credit Union 24, the ATM and POS network, will divide $3.3 million in patronage dividend. The payment is the largest patronage dividend in Credit Union 24 history.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A local woman is getting a helping hand from a CU to kickstart her new business as Shila Poindexter won Mazuma CU’s “Big Idea Challenge.” The challenge, part of Filene Research Institute’s pilot program to reach those with an entrepreneurial spirit, rewarded Poindexter with a $3,000 marketing package to launch her new home health assisted-living company. The package includes logo and stationery design, as well as printing costs.

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Financial troubles are not only taking a toll on Americans’ wallets, but also on their sleep according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

SOUTHBEND, Ind. - With college tuition rising and the economy making it tougher to save, Notre Dame FCU has partnered with College Funding Solutions to offer an online tool to help parents plan for their kids? education.

HARRISBURG, Penn. - In the latest round of legal skirmishes with between credit unions and banks, a federal court ruled last week that NCUA exceeded its authority when it awarded a broad community charter encompassing much of central Pennsylvania to Members 1st FCU, and later to two additional credit unions.

ODESSA, Texas - First Basin CU, which was forced by members to abandon its conversion to a mutual savings bank, has filed suit in state court saying opponents of the charter switch illegally interfered in the initiative.

Desert School Helps Native Groups