NEW YORK CITY - NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson said the financial services world needs to acknowledge there is a problem in reaching the unbanked, that financial education is essential to change people's lives, and giving credit unions the opportunity to reach out to underserved areas is key to implementing change.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Large, healthy CUs continue to merge, with NCUA announcing it has approved the following mergers: CommunityAmerica CU, Kansas City ($1.5 billion) with Midwest United CU, Blue Springs, Mo. ($170 million); Meriwest CU, San Jose, Calif. ($1.2 billion) with Golden Bay CU, Mountain View, Calif. ($210 million), and Xerox FCU, El Segundo, Calif. ($725 million) with Tiger FCU, Memphis, the credit union for Federal Express workers ($60 million). That follows recent deals to merge Toyota FCU ($275 million) into Western FCU ($1.2 billion), Capital Power CU ($60 million) into SAFE CU ($1.4 billion), Torrco Employees FCU ($30 million) into Founders FCU ($1.2 billion), and the pending merger of Horizons CU ($35 million) into Security Service FCU ($4 billion). (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

RIVERWOODS, Ill. - 1. Consumer Willingness To Spend Drops

WASHINGTON - CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica Thursday provided the credit union perspective for the average American regarding problems in the subprime mortgage market during a live interview on Bloomberg TV. Mica told the audience that if the entire mortgage market was the length of a 100-yard football field, problem subprime mortgages would equal only about the first yard. He added, however, that the effect on the housing market is significant and could require four to five years to work through.

EUGENE, Ore. - Although Monday, Oct. 8 was an off-day for many people as the country marked Columbus Day, it wasn't for the 250 employees of SELCO Credit Union here, who volunteered their time at more than 15 local agencies. In 2005 SELCO tried its first "All-Team Community Service Day," before reverting to a training day in 2006. Director of Community Involvement Jan Burch said employees made it very clear they wanted to do the Community Service Day again this year.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Generation X, the 48-million Americans born between 1965 and 1977, are about to enter their years of highest earning potential, but are also carrying significant amounts of debt and very little faith in the financial services industry, according to a new white paper.

Reloadable Prepaid Card Coming

I am writing in response to your Sept. 14 article, "Key Lawmaker Suggests Piecemeal Passage of CURIA." The article may have left readers with the false impression that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has "backed off" in his support of the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act in the Senate. I can assure you, this is not the case. Sen. Sanders has been a staunch supporter of credit unions and is always willing to call bankers to task, as he did in his GAO request to study banks and thrifts last year.

HIALEAH, Fla. - Barbaro Ramallo, who has been in the United States for just two years and who was borrowing money in order to become as U.S. citizen, has won a new Ford Edge from her credit union, American Airlines FCU. Ramallo won as part of the AAFCU's Road to Success Sweepstakes, an online promotion offering members the opportunity to win a new vehicle by opening one or multiple new accounts or products. Ramallo was randomly selected from more than 53,000 sweepstakes entries. A current employee of Sky Chefs in Miami, Ramallo, a Cuban native, opened her first share account in the AA Credit Union Blue Lagoon Branch in June.

NOVEMBER

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA issued two separate legal rulings on state laws, preempting one and not the other for federally chartered credit unions.

HARRISBURG, Penn. - A regulation requiring mortgage companies to use a Department of Banking-mandated disclosure form to protect borrowers is being proposed to the Commonwealth's Independent Regulatory Review Commission.

LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. - Michigan First Credit Union has closed its first official commercial loan. The loan recipient is a long-time Michigan First member, Robert Sneed, who is using the loan to repair and renovate a 17-unit apartment building in Detroit. Michigan First launched its full-line of business services earlier in 2007, and said it has attracted more than 400 business accounts. MFCU has partnered with Michigan Business Connection, LLC, for commercial services. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

NEW YORK - Community development credit unions made their presence felt here as part of the Eastern Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People, organized by the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - Consumers and members have evolved to expect products to service their individual needs, meaning credit unions must adapt if they are to survive new challengers such as ING.

Welcome to the Credit Union Journal's 11th Annual "Day in the Life" special feature. CO-OP Financial Services is proud to sponsor this celebration of International Credit Union Week.

DALLAS - The confidence credit union CEO have in their own institutions' current financial performance has declined from where it was just three months ago, and they're feeling even more pessimistic about their own members' financial status for the remainder of this year.

DURHAM, N.C. - Latino Community Credit Union is among the semi-finalists for the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. In all, 10 community development financial institutions were named as semi-finalists for $8.25 million in grants and awards. The awards program is sponsored by the Wachovia Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Rather than waiting for the market to come to it, Corporate One FCU is going to the market. The corporate said it will hold the annual Winter Operations Forum in Queretaro, Mexico, Jan. 26-30, 2008, in collaboration with World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).

WASHINGTON - As a kickoff last week to promoting the 2008 "Capitol Hill Competition" of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run, representatives of the credit union movement's sponsors of the event presented the Credit Union Cup to the captain of the winning team, "Crapo's Couch Potatoes," made up of runners from the office of U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID).