LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - With many credit union leagues struggling with affiliation, one league is hoping that by creating its own CUSO it will add more value to the credit unions it serves.

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Members of two credit unions on opposite ends of the continent have been receiving automated calls with a similar pitch-access to their accounts has expired and they must call a toll-free number to "reactivate."

I was running my weekend errands with my 3-year-old in tow. As we approached one of our usual haunts, my child pointed to the red bullseye on the side of the building and confidently looked up at me at said, "Mommy, that says Target."

SEPTEMBER

FSCC Partners With FMSI

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - In response to numerous requests from its members, Pacific Service Credit Union recently unveiled new home equity loan products, which are secured by vacation homes or rental property.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Pacific Service Credit Union put its reputation for efficiency on the line with a "six-minute guarantee" on loan approvals.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The current tumult in the mortgage market has pushed dozens of subprime and exotic lenders out of business, but credit unions that resisted the temptations of the 2003-2005 real estate boom may emerge relatively unscathed- and leverage some big opportunities.

* Froid (Montana) FCU's phone number was misprinted in the Credit Union Journal Factbook & Buyer's Guide. It should be 406-766-2350.

NEW YORK - Community development CUs say they share the nation's concerns about problems in subprime mortgages and the resulting tighter credit, but tell CU Journal that it's too early to predict how it will affect their financial offerings and members.

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DALLAS, TEXAS - PAYjr has joined together with global technology provider, Serverside Group, to offer teens a chance to design their own PAYjr Visa Buxx Card, a prepaid card for teenagers.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - PSCU Financial Services, the cards processor for more than 1,100 credit unions, said yesterday it has developed an educational program to advertise and market to so-called Generation Yers, those Americans between the ages of 12 and 30.

ROANOKE, Va. – A former member representative for CUNA Mutual Life Insurance Co. was sentenced to more than eight years in prison and ordered to repay $1.5 million to CUNA Mutual Life and Merrill Lynch for an investment scam that drained as much as $2.5 million from CUNA Mutual customers. No customers lost any money to the scam because the losses were covered by CUNA Mutual or insured. Earlier this year, Monica Yates, 40, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges for mistreating more than two dozen sick or dead dogs and cats in her home. After leaving CUNA Mutual Life in May 2006, Yates convinced as many as 18 policyholders to terminate their long-term CUNA Mutual financial products and invest them in fictitious variable annuities. She prepared phony account statements to show the victims the funds were being invested and earning monthly interest. She failed to tell her victims that termination of the CUNA Mutual products carried heavy early cancellation fees. She also victimized at least four customers at Merrill Lynch, where she worked briefly after leaving CUNA Mutual. The funds were deposited into Yates’ own account at Bank of America. Actual losses to the victims, not counting early cancellation fees and lost interest, were $1.3 million.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Members of MAX FCU were expected to vote to convert the former military credit union to a state charter in order to expand its field of membership. The credit union, chartered to serve employees at Maxwell/Gunter Air Force Base, currently serves residents in the greater Montgomery Metropolitan Service Area, but will be allowed to expand into contiguous counties under a state charter. The state charter also will require the $750 million credit union to pay state excise taxes of $700,000 a year. The cost of the charter switch is estimated at $125,000.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – GCS FCU has acquired the former New Jerusalem Church here and plans to build a seventh branch at the site. Plans call for razing the church and building a one-story, 2,600 square-foot branch with a drive-thru lane, ATM and offices. The credit union operates five branches and plans a sixth soon.

SALEM, Ore. – MaPS CU said yesterday it has contracted with Fidelity National Information Services to outsource its credit and debit card processing and to use the company’s new Portfolio Management Analysis to maximize profits on its cards program. MaPS also will use the company’s Scorecard loyalty and rewards program and other services.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tax preparer H&R Block said yesterday losses at its troubled subprime mortgage operations more than doubled losses for its fiscal first quarter ended July 31 to $302.6 million, or 93 cents a share. The losses could scuttle the company’s planned sale of its Option One subprime loan subsidiary and force Block to shut it down altogether, the company warned yesterday. Block said it is negotiating with private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, which has agreed to buy Option One, for a lower price. “The mortgage origination market is in the midst of the most severe dislocation it has seen in years, maybe the most severe since the 1930s," Mark Ernst, chairman and chief executive, told analysts during a conference call to announce its first-quarter results. Activist shareholders of H&R Block are calling for the company to get out of the mortgage business to focus on its core tax preparation business. Richard Breeden, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and now running a hedge fund, is waging a proxy fight for three seats on the H&R block board, from which he hopes to reshape the company.

McLEAN, Va. – Rates on long-term mortgages declined again this week to their lowest since June, according to Freddie Mac. The average for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.45% this week, from 6.52% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-rate loan dipped to 6.12%, from 6.18%. But ARM rates rose, with the average for the five-year ARM moving to 5.84%, from 5.60%; and the average for the one-year ARM inching up to 6.35%, from 6.34%. "The increase in ARM rates is consistent with movement of the yields on short-term Treasury securities, which have exhibited higher volatility recently due to market uncertainties,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for the secondary mortgage market giant.

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – PHH Corp. said it has rejected a proposal by a private equity firm to spin off the leading mortgage bank for credit unions, rather than sell the whole company. As a result, shareholders are scheduled to vote Sept. 26 on the sale of the company to GE Capital, which then will sell the mortgage operations, including the former CUNA Mutual Mortgage Corp., to The Blackstone Group for $5 billion. A private equity fund called Pennant Capital, which has acquired a 9% stake in PHH, said a better deal for shareholders would be the spin-off of the mortgage operation, the nation’s 11th-largest mortgage originator, as a separately traded company. PHH, which has had a vibrant relationship with credit unions for more than a decade, became the largest mortgage bank for credit unions in October 2005 when it acquired CUNA Mutual’s mortgage operations, which included servicing on 250,000 residential mortgages valued at $12 billion, and relationships with as many as 2,000 credit unions.