YORKTOWN, VA. – 1st Advantage FCU will host a Green Car Expo at its Kiln Creek branch Oct. 13. The $474-million credit union said a variety of hybrid cars will be on display from various local dealerships. In addition, two seminars will be offered on the subject. “One of the biggest misconceptions that prospective hybrid car owners have is they are expensive to own,” said Kathleena Hollopeter, sales manager for Hall Ford, who will present at the two seminars. “This is not so. The battery is rated to last 100,000 miles.” At the seminars, which are free and open to the public, Hollopeter will seek to dispel this and other misconceptions, as well as let people know exactly how hybrid cars work, how the battery pack works and how owning a green car helps the environment. 1st Advantage will offer door prizes and members will have the opportunity to get pre-approved for the purchase of their next car (green or not).

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Credit unions aren’t alone in reaching out to underserved communities. This state’s banker’s association has partnered with the Governor’s Office and Southeast Community Capital Corp., a community development financial institution, for a 10-year plan called the Tennessee Rural Opportunity Fund that will seek to originate $25 million of loans to more than 350 rural small businesses. The TROF is projecting the effort will create approximately 600 jobs over the next decade. The Tennessee Rural Opportunity Fund is expected to launch with capital of $12 million. In exchange for their investment, the banks will receive Community Reinvestment Act credit and a 3% return.

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 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 AAFCU’s Blue Lagoon Branch in June. "I met Ms. Ramallo in August to assist her with a personal loan needed to process the paperwork needed to become a United States citizen," said Julio Berrios, Member Service Representative, AAFCU. With that transaction, Ramallo became automatically entered into the sweepstakes. The sweepstakes runs through Nov. 30.

WASHINGTON — Debate over what to do in the subprime mortgage market and how to help struggling homeowners has tempered the previous discussion in Congress over how the government-sponsored enterprises can be reformed. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is being pressured by a number of members of Congress to help resolve problems in subprime lending. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) has been among those pressing the OFHEO since August to lift the caps on Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s mortgage portfolios, while Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has introduced legislation that would temporarily allow the portfolios to grow by 10%. Still, a representative of the OFHEO said his office remains focused on GSE reform.

PEWAUKEE, Wis. – The Wisconsin Credit Union League said it will offer a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) involved in the kidnapping of a credit union employee and her son as part of a robbery. The Wisconsin league’s offer follows a similar reward offer made by the Wisconsin Bankers Association. Over the past several years there have been several instances at banks and credit unions in the Midwest in which robbers first kidnap an employee at their place of residence, and then force him or her to open the credit union or bank. In the most recent case, the manager of a Landmark Credit Union branch was kidnapped at night and then forced to open the branch and its cash vault. “Someone out there has information that can bring to justice whoever is responsible for this crime,” said WCUL President Brett Thompson.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – With the vast majority of corporate payments still being done by paper check, MasterCard Inc. has introduced an automated payments network that uses both purchasing cards and automated clearing house transactions to link businesses with their suppliers. Purchasing cards, having already proven popular in areas such as travel, entertainment and small-order purchasing, are being expanded into payments. By doing so MasterCard becomes at least the third major financial company to make a serious push into the business-to-business payments space this year. Analysts said it is targeting smaller companies than its rivals in the hope of attracting users to MasterCard Payment Gateway, which it is to announce today. Earlier this year, American Express Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also introduced corporate payments ecosystems that connect companies’ accounts payable systems with those of their trading partners.

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in Congress have renewed their call on the Bush Administration to do more about the mortgage crisis affecting both lenders and borrowers in some markets, but have not offered any firm proposals for a course of action. But political analysts said what’s really afoot has less to do with problems in the mortgage market and more to do with the 2008 elections. "The Democrats want to develop a second front for the 2008 elections: the economy, in addition to the Iraq war," Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, told American Banker. The Democrats have asked that the Bush administration lift the portfolio caps on government-sponsored enterprises immediately to fuel market liquidity, boost funding for foreclosure prevention, and establish a “housing czar” to cut through red tape and oversee workout arrangements for borrowers.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A new online payment service that sends funds using instant messaging software is being launched, with backing from some well-known names from America Online. Revolution Money Inc. reported it has developed a free, online person-to-person transfer system and a merchant co-branded card that includes both credit and prepaid debit features. Four banks, including Citigroup Inc., are involved with Revolution Money in various ways, according to American Banker. The company said its proprietary payment system uses a secure Internet connection, which is less costly to operate than a dedicated network. Among those involved in the launch of either the company or its venture capital fund backer, Revolution, LLC, are Steve Case and Ted Leonsis, two of the founders of AOL. The system currently is in testing and will open to the public in November. Users will be able to send money to each other through the widely used AOL Instant Messenger application.

ARLINGTON, Va. – An item in Tuesday’s CU Journal Daily Briefing regarding NAFCU’s concerns with pending legislation relating to overdraft protection incorrectly stated the name of the U.S. Representatives involved. NAFCU has been working with U.S. Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to see how the bill can be amended.

BEAVERTON, Ore. – Long-time credit union veteran Gene Poitras, president of the Credit Union Association of Oregon, will retire Nov. 30. Poitras joined CUAO in 1975, and in February 1993 was named president of CUAO and its affiliates. During his career at the CUAO, he oversaw a number of significant events, including its name change from the Oregon Credit Union League, numerous legislative battles, two office relocations, and a rebranding. “Gene has served the Oregon and national credit union movement for 36 years with distinction, and has been one of our most committed champions through the challenges and opportunities that credit unions have faced throughout the years,” said CUAO Chair Shirley Cate, who also is CEO of Providence Health System FCU.

HOUSTON – PULSE has launched a new neural network-based fraud detection system across its network following a three-month beta development program involving several financial institutions. DebitProtect provides risk-scoring for all PULSE PIN, signature and PINless debit transactions on the PULSE network, and notifies designated financial institution personnel via e-mail of possible fraudulent transactions. “Because debit cards are used differently than credit cards, PULSE designed the DebitProtect system based on a highly customized data model developed specifically for debit portfolios,” said PULSE President Dave Schneider. Schneider said the service was developed for ease of use and does not require any technical changes on the part of PULSE participants.

LLOYDMINSTER, Alberta – Common Wealth Credit Union has introduced a program called “Young & Free” that is says is the first free financial management service package for young Albertans. The Young & Free platform includes a package of free, unlimited financial services along with an online microsite that includes helpful financial hints, polls, blogs and trivia to “help them move towards financial independence,” the credit union said. As part of “Young & Free,” the credit union has launched a search for a spokesperson to represent and be the voice of 17- to 25-year-olds. The winning spokesperson will be employed by Common Wealth Credit Union and is expected to regularly participate in events, blogs and interviews as the Young & Free youth ambassador. Contestants and members can view, submit and vote on video entries online at www.youngfreealberta.com.

DESOTO, Texas – A start-up company offering payment services is targeting unbanked consumers with a product that has been tried in various forms in the past: charging purchases to a phone bill. The company, Etelcharge.com Inc., is targeting consumers who do not carry credit cards or who do not want to use them online. Several payments analysts told the American Banker phone companies and consumers have become accustomed to charging purchases such as ringtones to phone bills in the past few years, but they warned Etelcharge may be aiming at a small pool of potential users, many of whom may have other options. The service is available to AT&T Inc. landline customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, though the company has not yet announced any deals with merchants to accept the service as a payment option. That announcement is expected this month. The company is expected to expand into other states over the next six months. Users enroll by calling Etelcharge from the phone they want to use for billing to demonstrate they have control of the line and the associated bill. There currently is a spending limit of $60 per month.

OTTAWA, Canada – The data breach at TJX Cos. Inc. that the company disclosed in January after account information for approximately 45 million people was put at risk was the result of sloppy encryption at two Marshalls stores in Miami, according to a report by Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s privacy commissioner. The report noted the information that was potentially released should not have been captured in the first place. Separately, Computerworld reported the settlement offer made by the company in response to litigation against it would offer victims three years of credit monitoring services and ID theft insurance, and would reimburse for any related costs, such as obtaining a new driver’s license. But the consumer advocate website Mouseprint.org said only shoppers who made returns without a receipt–and therefore would have had to give TJX their driver’s license information–would be eligible for the compensation described in the offer. That would include about 455,000 people, or just 1% of those affected by the breach. The remaining 99% would be entitled to a merchandise credit of $30 to $60 if they incurred a loss of $5 or more, the site said.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard’s advisory unit has begun promoting a service it says lets consumers earn rewards for using a variety of financial products and services, not just payment cards. The company said Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati, has been using the service to pool rewards points earned by its customers on credit and debit cards. MasterCard said the service incorporates technology that can integrate several banking products, such as brokerage services, mortgages, and savings and checking accounts Jon Groch, senior VP with Fifth Third’s card division, told American Banker it is using the MasterCard service to ease the “clutter” of rewards programs for consumers and to solidify relationships with them. Groch said about 10,000 customers are enrolled in the program it calls “53PointShare.”

WASHINGTON – Not too surprisingly, the National Association of Realtors is reporting that during August the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes fell even more than forecast. The NAR said signed purchase agreements dropped 6.5% from July to the lowest level since it began keeping records in 2001. The drop followed an 11% decline in July. Analysts are predicting that stricter lending guidelines and higher borrowing costs resulting from the credit crisis that emerged during August will serve to push sales down even more when that data is reported, and that the real estate market slump will continue into 2008. “The housing market has yet to reach bottom,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at Horizon Investments LLC in Charlotte, told the American Banker. More than 10% of signed contracts fell through in August because buyers could not secure financing.

WASHINGTON – The buyout group that had made an offer to buy Sallie Mae has lowered its offering price to $50 a share, down from $60 per share. However, the same group said it would improve the offer in the form of warrants to buy Sallie shares, which it said could eventually be worth as much as $10 a share if Sallie hits earnings expectations. The buyout group is led by J.C. Flowers and includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe. It is seeking to renegotiate its deal for the student lender now that credit has crunched and there’s new legislation that cut subsidies to student lenders. Sallie Mae is objecting to the attempt to renegotiate.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Two more CUs are expanding into business services. The $979-million Eagle Federal Credit Union here, through a partnership with CU Business Capital, LLC (CUBC), Miramar, Fla., has expanded its offerings to include business loans, leases and SBA loans, deposit products, business checking and MMAs, remote deposit capture, commercial insurance products and more. In the process, American Eagle has become a Tier II equity partner of CUBC, which is a CUSO, entitling it to pricing discounts on CUBC services. Meanwhile, in San Jose, Calif., $300-million Valley CU also has begun offering business services, with both lending and savings products. “When we noticed a prevalence of small business owners within our membership who were dissatisfied with the business banking services they were using at other financial institutions, we decided to develop a suite of products designed to fit their unique needs,” said Derrick Fortier, AVP of Operations at Valley CU.

WASHINGTON – The closure by regulators of the $2.5-billion online bank NetBank may be the first of other seizures to come, according to analysts. After closing just one institution between June 2004 and September 2007, problems in the mortgage market and a dearth of buyers for troubled assets are likely to mean NetBank won’t be alone. "We absolutely believe that the cycle has begun. We haven't had a failure for quite some time … but we believe we could see several more failures between now and into the first quarter," Damyon Mouzon, the president of Lace Financial Corp., a Frederick, Md., rating firm that tracks troubled institutions told American Banker. "With the liquidity drying up, … that was the final straw, really, and institutions are now going to have to come clean and say what they really believe they and their loans are worth in the marketplace. That's going to be a real shocker for some institutions." Alpharetta, Ga.-based NetBank had a significant number of bad loans; the FDIC is estimating it will cost the fund $110 million.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – CO-OP Financial Services said it will offer a reloadable prepaid card to credit unions beginning in the fourth quarter of this year. Among the card’s features will be the ability to offer members in-branch load and reload, direct deposit capabilities, personalization and online tracking. "The prevailing trend among people 30 and under is to carry less cash in their wallet and to rely on plastic for even the smallest purchases," said Stan Hollen, president and CEO of CO-OP Financial Services. "The features that will be offered on the CO-OP Reloadable Prepaid Card will allow younger consumers, as well as anybody who prefers to carry little or no cash, to experience a higher level of security, convenience and financial control." Members will be able to use the card anywhere MasterCard or Visa debit cards are accepted, and also can be used to obtain cash at all of CO-OP Network's 25,000 surcharge-free ATMs around the country.