WASHINGTON – A bid to get credit union non-profit lender status for the federally guaranteed student loan program has been rejected by lawmakers, even as they struggle to stem the exodus of lenders from the Federal Family Education Loan Program.

WASHINGTON – Troubled secondary mortgage market giant Fannie Mae yesterday reported it lost another $2.2 billion in the first quarter, forcing it to seek another $6 billion with a share offering and to cut its quarterly dividend.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Self-Help CU is planning to buy foreclosed homes in a newly built northwest Charlotte subdivision, then either sell them or rent them with an option to buy as part of a pilot program aimed at alleviating the growing foreclosure crisis.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A former public works employee will spend 90 days in jail for stealing as much as $62,000 in coins he was collecting from city parking meters and depositing them into his credit union account.

TREVOSE, Penn. – TruMark Financial CU awarded student scholarships totaling $10,000 and teacher grants totaling $2,000 in a “Financial Jeopardy” game last month.

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah CU League said its 100% For Kids CU Education Foundation has awarded $20,035 to seven schools in the Granite School District.

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Barksdale FCU yesterday said Amo Easterly has retired as CEO and will be succeeded by Rod Taylor, the credit union’s chief operating officer for the past 16 years.

OREM, Utah – Family First FCU yesterday launched its own payday loan program that promises lower fees and rates than products offered by area competitors.

WASHINGTON – In an effort to add liquidity to the troubled student loan market, the Federal Reserve said it has expanded its term securities lending facility to include top-rated student loan asset-backed securities as collateral for advances.

LOS ANGELES – USC CU yesterday said it is launching a new CUSO that will provide servicing and processing for other credit unions to offer private student loans, the latest in an expanding number of credit union initiatives aimed at helping stem the growing crisis in the student loan market.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Three men last week were arrested after they were caught trying to heist an Anderson FCU ATM with a Bobcat.

MILWAUKEE – Two men last week were arrested in connection with a series of as many as five local credit union and bank robberies executed during severe inclement weather.

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines FCU last week said its annual golf tournament raised $60,000 to benefit the Tarrant County United Way.

HONOLULU – Aloha Pacific FCU last week said it has entered the credit card rewards competition with a new program that competes with bank-issued cards.

LYNN, Mass. – An Iraq war veteran last week was charged with robbing the same branch of St. Jean’s CU four times in two months.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo Area Community CU said it has completed its combination with Erie Shores CU, creating the state’s fourth-largest credit union, now known as Directions CU.

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An 11-year-old member of Team One CU became a millionaire for the day on Friday, which earned him $20.

ONTARIO, Calif. – Members of CO-OP Financial Services’ credit unions can find an ATM while on the go using their cell phones.

NEW ORLEANS – CUNA-backed Republican State Rep. Steve Scalise easily won election in Saturday’s special race for the state’s First District House seat, vacated last year by Bobby Jindal, who was elected governor.

WASHINGTON – Two years later, one of its biggest political expenditures paid off for CUNA last week with the introduction in the Senate of the CU Regulatory Improvements Act, better known as CURIA, by Sen. Joseph Lieberman.