When you turn the page–no, not yet–you’ll find an opinion piece from David Bartoo analyzing what 2008 holds for credit unions and mergers.

For three consecutive years, the number of mergers receiving preliminary approval from the NCUA has declined to the lowest number of approvals in the decade with just 226 through November 2007. This trend, when coupled with the very low number of preliminary approvals granted by the NCUA in October and November (30), could indicate that merger activity will continue to slow in 2008. The first quarter of 2008 will likely be one of the slowest quarters for merger activity in the past five years. However, mergers are rarely a result of poor financial performance and short-term trends but rather a combination of negative long term sustainability trends, emotional concerns and external changes in the market.

Over the last 12 months, many credit unions’ asset and membership growth were flat. And at most of these credit unions there were increased charge-offs attributable to the declining economy.

A wise man once said that someone who does not act on an idea is no better off than someone who does not have an idea. The same is true for organizations. Learning new things from research is a step in the right direction, but acting on that newly found knowledge is what brings success.

Last fall I participated in the Eastern European Credit Union Congress where I was asked to speak on credit union advocacy in the United States. The U.S. is not unlike other movements in that governmental bodies determine the fate or vitality of credit union movements based on the powers they provide and the corresponding regulatory structures they implement.

As I read the article on Professor Jackson’s recent Filene research paper on credit union capital in the Dec. 10 issue I couldn’t help but wonder what conclusions might be different if the selected base line of 1990 had been, say 1980 when the Carter year’s inflation peaked.

OXNARD, Calif. – Police were searching for a burglar who set off a fire alarm while he was using a blowtorch to break into an ATM at a Ventura County CU branch here.

DAYTON, N.J. – NJ Gateway FCU partnered with the local Rotary Club to contribute more than 2,500 dictionaries to third-grade pupils.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – VyStar CU said it has received a license to operate a full-service real estate agency.

ROME, N.Y. – AmeriCU CU has opened three new branches in the last month, giving it a total of 14.

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine credit unions launch a three-week radio ad campaign today for the shared branch network in markets participating in the network.

AMARILLO, Texas – The People's FCU paid over $225,000 back to its members in the form of a bonus year-end dividend, the first bonus dividend in the credit union's 55-year history.

LENEXA, Kan. – U.S. Central FCU this morning will announce it has selected anti-phishing systems from MarkMonitor in an effort to combat sophisticated attacks from the so-called Rock Phish organization, an anonymous group believed to be responsible for as much as half the phishing attacks being carried out.

MILLVILLE, N.J. – A community group last week said it has applied to state financial regulators to start a community development credit union, one of at least four new credit unions in the works.

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – One or more identity thieves stole $665,000 from a Woodstone CU member’s account last week through a sophisticated telephone scheme that allowed them to tap into the member’s home equity line of credit.

HOUSTON – A federal court last week ordered the family of the former manager of ILA24 FCU to pay NCUA $2.8 million they stole from the now-defunct credit union after the manager, Esther Pelton, was incapacitated by Alzheimer’s disease.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America announced this morning it has agreed to buy troubled mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. for $4 billion.

PHOENIX – Desert Schools FCU will donate $300,000 to Phoenix Children's Hospital next week, the largest donation of any credit union to Credit Unions for Kids for 2007.

RANTOUL, Ill. – Two men apparently took a taxi to rob Credit Union 1 Wednesday morning, then took the cab to a nearby car dealership to buy a vehicle with their loot.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Northwest Community CU yesterday said it completed the year-long replacement of its core operating system with Open Solutions “The Complete Credit Union Solution” product.