The push for growth among financial services providers has a lot of managers reconsidering the way they do a lot of things–and especially the way they market. Historically a lot of CUs have been reluctant to invest in a professional marketing effort. Instead they chose to save money by promoting marketing managers from within instead of bringing in real expertise. And they work with graphics houses that peddle the same basic creative to all their clients with a “put your credit union name here” mentality.

Credit Union Journal encourages reader feedback. Letters to the Editor can be sent to Managing Editor Lisa Freeman at lfreeman cujournal.com, or online at www.cujournal.com.

Are you proud to be a credit union? And if you are, do you keep it to yourself?

Congress’ Joint Economic Committee (JEC) issued a report last October titled, “The Subprime Lending Crisis: The Economic Impact on Wealth, Property Values and Tax Revenues, and How We Got Here.” The study conservatively estimates that through 2009, “Approximately $71 billion in housing wealth will be directly destroyed” through foreclosure; “More than $32 billion in housing wealth will be indirectly destroyed by the spillover effect of foreclosures” on neighboring properties; and “State and local governments will lose more than $917 million in property tax revenue” due to the erosion of housing wealth.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Two suspects on Friday were arrested and charged with last August’s armed robbery at Piedmont Aviation CU that netted $27,000.

SEATTLE – Watermark CU will celebrate the opening of its new 44,000 square-foot headquarters this week.

AUGUSTA, Maine – Credit unions plans to grow their statewide marketing campaign, featuring the “I Save” tag line, to a statewide audience this year.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – More than 200 members of Langley FCU received phishing solicitations for their personal account information Friday via text messages received on their cell phones.

BOISE, Idaho – TruGrocer FCU, formerly known as Alberstons Employees FCU, was granted a TIP charter to serve all of the nation’s supermarket employees, NCUA said Friday.

WALL STREET – Fitch Ratings affirmed the long- and short-term issuer default ratings for U.S. Central FCU at its highest AAA and F1+, respectively, Friday, but downgraded the overall rating outlook for the corporates’ corporate to “negative” from “stable” due to U.S. Central’s continued exposure to the subprime mortgage market.

HARRISBURG, Penn. – The Pennsylvania CU Association has reached an agreement with the banking lobby on language that would give the bankers and the general public comment and input on field of membership applications for state chartered credit unions, a growing battleground between the traditional rivals.

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin credit unions threw their support behind a bill introduced in the state legislature last week that would enact some of the Payment Card Industry data security rules as law and make parties responsible for data breaches pay the costs accrued by their customers, including credit unions.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers apparently have rejected efforts by the credit union lobby to get provisions of the long-stalled CU Regulatory Improvements Act into the economic stimulus package rapidly moving through Congress.

DAYTON, Ohio – NCR last week said it is offering an ATM that conducts minor repairs to itself, saving owners on maintenance and down time.

SAN DIEGO – Mitek Systems last week said it has introduced the first mobile banking software that will capture paper checks and other images over cell phone cameras for use by credit unions and banks.

FRAZER, Penn. – Creators of a new secure payments card are looking for financial backers among credit unions to finance a pilot and bring the “Xcalibur” card to market.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A man who pleaded guilty to robbing two banks and two credit unions here from December 2005 to March 2006 has been sentenced to 28 years in federal prison.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Someone used a stolen bulldozer to rip an ATM from its base at CommunityAmerica CU Wednesday night, dragging the machine down the street before abandoning it.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Check-printer Deluxe Corp. yesterday said its fourth-quarter profit fell 15% to $40.2 million, or 77 cents a share, as revenues declined by 3%.

MINNEAPOLIS – Fair Isaac Corp., maker of the ubiquitous FICO credit score, said net income for its fiscal first quarter declined 35% amid trouble among its credit union and bank customers.