LAUREL, Md. - Like nearly all credit unions, Tower Federal Credit Union did the best job it could to greet its members, make them feel at home and sign them up to speak with a member service representative as quickly as possible. The trouble was, even that effort was taking too much time and didn't determine if the member was truly satisfied.

SAN DIEGO - A wafer-thin credit card with a 12-button keypad, an embedded alphanumeric display and microprocessor was rolled-out last week at the International Card Manufacturers' annual Card Manufacturing and Personalization Expo here.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Credit Union Journal has added additional resources, content and tools for subscribers at www.cujournal.com.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - NCUA threw in the towel on Norlarco CU last week, moving to sell the failed $320-million credit union and creating one of the biggest work-outs for NCUA since the southwestern real estate bust in Texas in the 1980s.

Moving Beyond Free Checking With Value-added Credit Report Monitoring

MADISON, Wis. - Seven product and service innovations, now available for implementation at credit unions, have been developed by teams made up of members of the Filene Research Institute's i3 Group. Members of i3, which stands for Ideas, Innovation and Implementation, are charged with identifying and creating new products, services and business models to help "transform" credit unions. The latest batch of ideas was presented at i3 Group's recent "Stampede" in Dallas.

Rancho Cucomonga, Calif. — The California CU League reached an agreement with a subsidiary of the Texas CU League to provide compliance and audit resources to California and Nevada credit unions.

FISHERS, Ind. - While FORUM Credit Union had successfully been in the subprime auto business since 2005, it nevertheless recognized that its operation needed to improve.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Carolina Postal Credit Union discovered a unique way last year to serve its harried membership, increase deposits and separate itself just a bit more from local bank competitors.

LENEXA, Kan. - Increased exposure to the mortgage backed securities market, including the subprime market, caused U.S. Central FCU to report losses of almost $17 million for the third quarter.

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas Federal Credit Union isn't afraid to set a big goal. At about a half billion dollars in assets, the CU is looking to join the billion-dollar club quickly-but to do so, it needed to change the way things were getting done.

SAN DIEGO - Donations of money and clothing, emergency shared branching offers, 0% loans, relief funds, foundations, and warnings of online scams-all were making headlines in the aftermath of a series of wildfires that roared through many parts of Southern California.

LATHAM, N.Y. - Sometimes the ultimate best practice is simply making the most of what you have. At CUC Mortgage Corporation, an affiliate of the New York State CU League, it has made a best practice out of using every single capability and enhancement it can eke out of its mortgage loan servicing system.

Comprehensive ID Theft Process Now Required

HAMILTON - Healthcare and Municipal Employees' Credit Union and McMaster Savings and Credit Union have announced a five-year agreement with Hamilton Health Sciences, St. Peter's Hospital and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton that will see all ATM surcharges from machines at those locations returned to the hospitals.

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. - City-County Federal Credit Union realized that what worked for getting new members in the past wasn't working today; it was time to rethink its approach to membership recruitment.

APPLETON, Wis. - Just one year after Community First Credit Union began promoting and actively managing its new credit card program, outstanding balances were up by 43%, as the CU achieved a 32% increase in purchases, and interest income gain of 23%. From March 2006 to March 2007, the CU boosted credit balances from $9.91 million to $14.16 million, and saw purchases rise from $2.21 million to $2.92 million. By the end of May 2007, outstandings topped $16 million for the first time.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Greenville FCU took what is traditionally thought of as a call center solution and used it for just about everything but a call center, which the credit union didn't have at the time.

SAN ANTONIO - After doing a product review, the management at FirstMark Credit Union just didn't have that Christmas cheer. Specifically, the credit union felt it was missing opportunities in the area of Holiday Club Accounts, typically a so-so performer at CUs.

PASADENA, Calif. - Members at Wescom Credit Union here send confidential financial information over the public Internet, where it becomes fair game for malicious hackers.