Does anyone remember the Betamax? Although this Sony videocassette recorder was the first on the market, the VHS format-not the Beta format-became the industry standard.

Credit unions often misapply marketing resources because they don't understand the youth market. Since "youth" ranges from newborns to those in their early 20s, it's a wide audience with significant differences in product usage, interest and financial institution awareness. Only when the needs of each age group are analyzed can marketing entice youths or their parents to open accounts.

Notes from the Bank (even though more than 300 CU folks were on hand) Administration Institute Retail Delivery Show last week in Las Vegas...

DECATUR, Ala. – Authorities say a woman suspected of robbing Alabama CU last week actually was a man with breast implants.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – First Data Corp., in the process of being taken private in a huge $26 billion buyout, last week said it is laying off 1,700 employees, or 6% of its workforce.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA on Friday said it made six loans from its community development loan fund last month, making a total of 40 for the year, a new high.

ARAB, Ala. – Developers last week were hailing the renovation of The Apartments at Mallard Pointe, which was financed through Redstone FCU.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Demolition began last week on three downtown apartment buildings to make way for a five-story headquarters for Washington State Employees CU.

TROY, N.Y. – SEFCU, the former State Employees FCU, is planning to build a 37,000 square-foot office building here to house its growing member business loan and insurance operations, as well as its non-profit charitable foundation.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said it moved another $30 million to the loss reserves it holds for the National CU Share Insurance Fund as it moved to assume hundreds of millions of dollars in troubled loans from two credit unions.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – In an effort to attract more Gen Yers, KeyPoint CU has partnered with mobile banking provider MShift to develop an application that will allow its members to access their accounts over the online social networking site Facebook.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Weighted down by a large portfolio of failed south Florida real estate loans, Huron River Area CU was liquidated by NCUA and its remnants sold off to Detroit Edison CU, the federal regulator announced Sunday.

DAYTON, Ohio – Eleven area credit unions and the Ohio CU Foundation have contributed $65,000 to the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton to finance a foreclosure prevention effort in one of the hardest hit home markets in the country.

WASHINGTON – With a million foreclosures expected over the next 12 months, the House voted Thursday for a bill to crack down on subprime lenders, but will create new standards for credit unions and other bystanders in the current mortgage meltdown.

FAIRMONT, N.C. – Ray Johnson, a long-time credit union manager in New York and former chairman of the New York CU League, last week passed away at 84.

MERIDIAN, Miss. – A former reporter for local radio stations Wednesday was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the October 2006 armed robbery at MUNA FCU.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A man who robbed Qside FCU Friday morning ended up with little for his trouble–just $20.

SALT LAKE CITY – Deseret First CU yesterday announced it has selected and is in the process of implementing Open Solutions Inc.’s “The Complete Credit Union Solution” core data processing platform.

MIAMI – University CU, which currently serves students and employees of the local education community, is converting to a community charter that covers all of Miami-Dade County.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – PSCU Financial Services announced it is offering free prepaid card readers to all of its member credit unions.