Merger Brings SSFCU Huge Underserved FOM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA Associate Director of External Affairs Justin Grove has been selected to serve on special detail at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Grove will advise and assist Treasury officials with task forces and initiatives dealing with financial education and current issues facing the economy, according to the agency.

NAPERVILLE, IL. - Frank Padak, CEO of Scott Credit Union was recently appointed to the Illinois Electronic Recording Commission.

Leagues Revamp Match-Up Website

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - CUES honored the following Councils during its CEO Network: CUES Alabama Council, Councils with less than 74 members; CUES Rocky Mountain Council, Councils with 75 to 150 members; CUES Michigan Council, Councils with more than 150 members. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Throughout 2007, the Credit Union Journal is profiling the credit unions of each U.S. state and D.C. Rather than appear in alphabetical order, the states are being featured in the order they became states.

PITTSFIELD - As global credit markets careen from the impact of a meltdown in sub prime lending, Greylock FCU has launched a new auto loan program aimed at helping credit-challenged borrowers. The New Road Loan Program will initially charge borrowers about half the rate charged by some subprime lenders, Greylock said. The rate is reduced every six months if the borrower demonstrates solid payment history, and after three successful years in the program, the loan rate will be reduced to the conventional Greylock rate, the CU said. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Comment

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - EHS Design Inc., Seattle, and John M. Floyd & Associates, Baytown, Texas, won CUES' Suppliers of the Year award for their contribution to the CU industry.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA ruled that hundreds of federally chartered credit unions will be allowed to own and hold stock they are about to receive in the initial public offering of Visa Inc., even though the Federal CU Act bars equity as a permissible investment for FCUs.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - You can't be a dessert topping and a floor wax, Steven Wilcox told attendees at the recent CUES' Network 2007 hoping to learn how to decommoditize their credit union.

ABINGTON, Penn. - NCUA said last week it liquidated Green Tree FCU, less than five years after its chartering by the Friends of Briar Bush, a nature conservancy started by the Quakers.

NOVEMBER

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Five years after receiving a micro-business loan from Opportunities Credit Union in 2002 to work on his new invention, Mark Harvie's company has been awarded more than $3 million in contracts from the Department of Defense.

QUEBEC, Canada - Birthplace of the North American caisses populaires and credit unions, the Maison Alphonse-Desjardins in Lévis, Québec celebrates 25 years of being open to the public.

SAN DIEGO - Approximately 1,700 houses were destroyed in San Diego County alone by the recent California wildfires, including 23 confirmed as belonging to members of First Future Credit Union.

WYOMISSING, Penn. - Ed Williams, CEO of Discovery FCU here, has been elected to the CUNA board for a three-year term beginning March 3, 2008. Williams, who ran unopposed, will represent District 1, Class A credit unions, which are comprised of CUs having fewer than 18,000 natural-person members in the following states/territories: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

MADISON, Wis. - Growth in both savings and loans declined last month, according to CUNA, adding to fears of a slowdown in the overall economy. Savings actually declined by 0.5%, with $3.3 billion of credit union funds walking out the door. Regular shares, share drafts and money market accounts all fell last month.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Air Academy FCU has launched MAX Checking, a no minimum-balance, free checking account that rewards members with 6.01% APY earnings and automatic refunds on ATM fees for helping the credit union operate more efficiently.

SILVER SPRING, Md. - The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has launched a Spanish-language version of its Homeowner Crisis Resource Center at www.nopierdastuhogar.org. (The English-language site can be found at www.HousingHelpNow.org.