ROCKFORD, Ill. – First Northern CU said it has contributed $30,000 to the renovation of nCenter, the city’s new educational and recreational facility for teens.

ORLANDO, Fla. – You have to control what you can control, and for credit unions that’s one, critical thing.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A credit union that has added 100,000 members and more than $2-billion in assets over the past 18 months can boast strong financials, but chasing ROA isn’t one of its objectives.

ATLANTA – Equifax Inc. reported a 5% decline in first quarter earnings due to costs related to last year’s $1.4 billion acquisition of TALX Corp.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fidelity National Information Services said first quarter earnings climbed 18% as it prepares for yet another financial restructuring with the spin-off of its huge mortgage servicing operation.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv, which recently completed the acquisition of electronic payments giant CheckFree, yesterday said first quarter earnings almost tripled to $329 million.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees CU opened 600 new accounts and attracted $1.8 million in new deposits during this year’s National CU Youth Week.

PORTLAND, Ore. – OnPoint CU, Oregon’s largest credit union, yesterday announced it introducing its own credit card program.

CONCORD, Calif. – Members continued to draw their funds out of ailing Cal State 9 CU at an increasing rate in the first quarter, while losses at the one-time $465 million institution, another victim of the mortgage crisis, continued to grow.

WASHINGTON – When he speaks to credit union groups Congressman Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, likes to tout the benefits of the credit union masses, as opposed to campaign largesse, as the main reason Congress likes credit unions–but the Massachusetts Democrat and his colleagues also know that credit unions have grown into one of the most avid contributors to congressional campaigns.

MINNEAPOLIS – Fair Isaac & Co., provider of the ubiquitous FICO credit score, said net income for its fiscal second quarter ending March 31 fell 37% amid a major restructuring.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard yesterday reported first quarter earnings more than doubled, primarily due to two one-time gains.

SAN FRANCISCO – Visa Inc. said net income for its first quarter surged 28%, even as the economic downturn slowed consumer spending.

CALABASAS, Calif. – Troubled mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. yesterday reported it lost $893 million for the first quarter, as it moved billions of news funds into its allowance for soaring loan losses.

SEATTLE – A fledgling community development credit union project was awarded a $100,000 grant yesterday from the Safeco Insurance Foundation, one of five grants handed out by the insurer’s non-profit arm.

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Addison Avenue FCU said it is offering its members a discounted membership in GreenDimes, a company that helps people get off junk mail lists.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Alta Visa CU said it has purchased NCR SelfServ 30 Series ATMs, which conduct their own repairs.

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A masked gunman shot his way into and robbed a Northwest Navigation CU branch yesterday morning shortly after opening, then made his getaway.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. – In another sign of the region’s economic downturn, Evangelical Christian CU, known for its financing of churches throughout the country, was forced to foreclose on and take ownership of one of the churches it finances, Ambassador Family Church.

WASHINGTON – The credit union lobby was licking its wounds yesterday, hours after congressional leaders pulled the credit union regulatory relief bill from a scheduled vote in response to a massive outpouring of opposition by the bankers.