WASHINGTON - The Senate Banking Committee endorsed a bill last week that will shift the burden of paying for the rescue of troubled subprime mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by dedicating as much as $500 million over the next year from an affordable housing fund to be paid by the secondary market giants to a new scheme to refinance hundreds of thousands of failing home loans.

Events

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The former president of Credit Union Group CU was barred from the industry by NCUA last week for his conviction on charges of making false entries in the credit union’s books.

DALLAS - The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas awarded Hope Community CU almost $1 million in grants to help the community development credit union sponsor three affordable housing projects in Louisiana where the credit union is working to replace housing destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union, N.Y., named Wendy Courtright Elizabethtown branch manager, Marcy Eichen Port Henry branch manager and Jackie Andersen assistant branch manager.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Alabama Telco CU has launched two new savings program, including one aimed at encouraging more debit card use by its 50,000 members.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The former finance and accounts manager at Capital Power CU, which was merged into SAFE CU last year, pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $410,000 from the credit union between 2001 and 2007, using the funds to buy rare coins and pay off his credit card expenses.

PORTLAND, Ore. - A desire to channel one’s inner rock star helped one credit union here attract a much larger-than-usual crowd to a branch opening.

WICHITA, Kan. - Boeing Wichita Credit Union has launched an eco-friendly checking account to demonstrate it’s environmentally conscious and, in the process, attract Gen Y.

CU Changes Name To Defense Electronics FCU

PAYSON, Utah - Dennis Dunn runs his nine-branch Mountain High FCU out of a basement office in his home here, 15 miles away from his headquarters building. Dunn, a self-described workaholic, says it makes him–and his staff–more productive.

WASHINGTON - The FBI is hunting for a serial robber who has robbed Navy FCU branches in Maryland and Virginia six times, making off with an estimated $100,000.

OTTAWA, Ill. - The board of Financial Plus CU has appointed two associate directors as part of its succession planning.

WAYNE, Penn. - SunGard said it has agreed to acquire Strohl Systems, a provider of business continuity systems.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Police have arrested 22 people in recent weeks and charged them with operating a sophisticated check ring that stole as much as $170,000.

OMAHA, Neb. - The company that owns the failed Great Adventures Water Resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, leaving its lender, hard-pressed Centris CU, potentially holding the bag for millions of dollars in losses.

NEW YORK - Cyber-crime activity continued to climb in March, according to new data released by RSA’s Anti-fraud Command Center.

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Larry Stapleton is retiring as CEO of United Southeast FCU after a 40-year career in credit unions. Stapleton started in 1964 with Mason-Dixon Credit Union and during his career he also worked for the Tennessee league and VolCorp. Stapleton’s son, Larry Stapleton, Jr., is CEO of Lifeway Credit Union in Nashville. Below, Stapleton shares his thoughts and insights as he retires.

QUINCY, Mass. - Early visitors to the Adams National Historical Park were greeted by a President John Quincy Adams, historical re-enactor helping to introduce the new $1 Presidential coin-courtesy of Quincy CU.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Some people may just titter and then toss aside the notion of Twitter, but a few credit unions are serious about the social networking site. (See related story, page 25.)