SANTA CLARA, Calif. – ViVOtech, the provider of mobile payments systems for cell phones, said yesterday it raised $22.5 million in new capital from a group including First Data Corp., NCR Corp., Nokia Growth Partners and Miven Venture Partners. ViVOtech is one of the leaders in mobile payment technologies, including contactless read/write terminals for merchants, and Near Field Communications mobile phone payments. The company is working to commercialize the use of pay-by-cell phone.

BOSTON – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston announced yesterday its second quarter earnings declined 14% to $40.1 million, as net interest income declined by $4 million from the second quarter last year. Market value adjustments on its hedging portfolio amounted to another $3.8 million. As a result, the Boston Bank said it will trim its dividend for the current third quarter to 6.5%, from 6.75% for the second quarter. The third quarter dividend, based on average stock outstanding for the second quarter, will be paid on Sept. 5.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Global Axcess Corp., the operator of 4,400 ATMs for credit unions and community banks, said yesterday it moved into the black for its fiscal second quarter, to the tune of $171,000, or a penny a share. That compares to a loss of $373,000, or a penny a share, for the same period last year. The company, which owns Nationwide Money Services, a provider of co-branded ATM services, reported a 2% rise in revenues for the second quarter, to $5.6 million. As a result, Global Axcess reported a 2% rise in revenues for the first two quarters of the year, to $10.9 million, and net income of $273,000, compared to a loss of $1.3 million for the first half last year.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Technology CU said yesterday it has signed with Jack Henry & Associates’ Symitar to install the company’s Episys core processing system. Representatives of the $1.3 billion credit union cited the system’s openness, flexibility and customization capabilities as main reasons for the switch. Technology CU is the 500th client for Episys.

WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Members United Corporate FCU, which just completed the acquisition of the Illinois CU League’s check processing, said yesterday it has expanded its existing imaging suite to include merchant capture and ATM image capture through VSoft Corp. Members United first implemented VSoft’s Image Capture and Branch Capture solutions in 2005. The Branch Capture solution is live in 300 CU branches, with another 150 expected by year-end. VSoft’s ATM Image Capture interfaces with any image-based ATM, while Merchant Capture allows credit unions to provide business members the ability to remotely capture and electronically send deposits.

SAN DIEGO – A trio of credit unions here is pushing members to buy hybrid vehicles with special discounts on hybrid vehicle loans. The loans are being offered for 0.25% below normal vehicle loan rates. Participating credit unions are Cabrillo CU, Sharp CU and Carlsbad City CU.

DES MOINES, Iowa – TMG Financial Services, a newly formed affiliate of the Iowa CU League’s The Members Group, announced yesterday it has launched a card agent issuing program, the latest credit union-owned option for credit unions wanting to shed their cards programs. The aim of the program is to allow credit unions to retain their brand on credit cards, as well as their relationship with their members. The major difference from other cards programs is TMG is offering an ownership stake to credit unions and hopes to eventually spin it off to credit unions, according to Jeff Russell, executive vice president of the venture. Another difference is TMG will offer selling credit unions an opportunity to invest their proceeds into loan participations underwritten by TMG, he said. The Members Group, which has been processing cards for Iowa credit unions for 20 years, will provide the processing and servicing of the cards programs, which will be transacted over the MasterCard network. TMG is owned by The Members Group, which is owned by the Iowa League and Iowa Corporate CU.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. – Island FCU said yesterday it has agreed to sell its $8 million cards portfolio to TNB Card Services, another big win for the credit union-owned processor. Earlier this year, TNB acquired the $16 million portfolio from A+ FCU in Austin, Texas, and the $15 million portfolio of CME FCU in Columbus, Ohio. TNB, a wholly owned subsidiary of credit union-owned Town North Bank, has been an increasingly active buyer in the market since raising $60 million in a stock offering in January, acquiring more than 30 credit union portfolios since then. The company now manages credit card programs for more than 130 credit unions.

ARLINGTON, Va. – NAFCU, whose members are required to obtain federal deposit insurance provided by NCUA, called on state regulators in Washington state to reject a bid to revive private insurance for state chartered credit unions. Raising the specter of the failure of the private insurer in Rhode Island–known as RISDIC–NAFCU told the Washington Department of Financial Institutions “primary share insurance coverage provided by private entities is fundamentally flawed and cannot adequately protect American depositors.” The DFI is considering a rule that would allow American Share Insurance, the sole survivor of a network of two dozen state deposit insurers, to provide coverage in the Evergreen State, a decade after the state’s own insurer, Washington CU Share Guarantee Association, dissolved in the wake of the RISDIC crisis. Federal deposit insurance funds, such as NCUA’s National CU Share Insurance Fund, are the only ones with the ultimate backing of the U.S. government, said NAFCU President Fred Becker, in a comment letter to the DFI. In contrast, American Share Insurance does not have federal backing and has no reinsurance, asserted Becker. “For this very reason, the General Accountability Office in 203 doubted the ability of a private insurer’s ability to ‘absorb catastrophic losses.’” NAFCU has a recent history of opposition to private deposit insurance, opposing a provision in the regulatory relief bill, eventually removed, that would allow more than 300 privately insured credit unions to join the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

WACO, Texas – Police are searching for a man who stole a security guard’s handgun while he was robbing First Central CU Monday morning–the third hold-up at the credit union in five months. In Monday’s heist, the suspect stuffed a bag full of cash then fled on foot down an alley behind the building. The suspect is on the run, possibly with two guns: the gun he carried in with him and the gun that belonged to the security officer. Police believe the earlier robberies, in March and in June, were related, but are not sure if this one is.

AUGUSTA, Me. – Maine credit unions on Monday began airing their third series of radio ads touting shared branching. The campaign, funded by 23 CU participants in Maine’s shared branching network, will air for three weeks. The ad, entitled “Packing Up,” can be heard on the following stations: Y-100.9, 99.9 The Wolf, 105 WTOS, 104.3 WABK, B-98.5, KISS 94.5, and Q-106.5. The final shared branching cooperative ad series of 2007 will air at the end of November.

WASHINGTON – Capital-area radio stations will begin airing a series of upbeat commercials this fall targeting so-called Gen Y consumers and focusing on the credit union difference. The long range campaign–up to three years–will allow for the establishment of a credit union brand in the Capitol region. Tagged “What’s In It For Me?” the radio ads will drive listeners to a companion website that explains the credit union difference and helps them locate a CU in their neighborhood. Unlike the ad campaign by Maine credit unions proclaiming ‘I Save,’ or Pennsylvania credit unions’ ‘Where iBelong,’ this campaign will try to explain to consumers exactly how they might benefit from credit union membership. Consumer response to the campaign will be tracked as it progresses. The ads, to air in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., markets, are being coordinated by the Maryland/DC CU Association.

PHOENIX – Desert Schools FCU said yesterday its employees and members raised $10,000 at the credit union’s annual Bowl-A-Thon to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. More than 150 credit union employees and their families participated in the one-day event and raffle at the Brunswick Mesa Lanes. Over the past 10 years, the $3 billion credit union has raised more than $1 million for Phoenix Children's Hospital's ‘One Darn Cool School’ program.

LIVONIA, Mich. – Co-op Services CU said yesterday it has contracted with Cyveillance for its anti-fraud and anti-phishing software. Cyveillance Anti-Phishing will monitor the Internet for phishing scams targeting credit union members through junk e-mail, fraudulent domain name registrations, and systematic monitoring of the Web. Cyveillance also will provide take down services, which guarantee to shut down phishing sites in four hours or less. The service includes automated phishing site blocking, through Cyveillance partners such as AOL and Microsoft. Co-op Services CU is a $320 million credit union serving more than 45,000 members.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Pacific Service CU said yesterday it is now offering two home equity loans that are secured by rental property or vacation homes. The new mortgage products will allow members to take advantage of the build up in equity on vacation homes and rental properties. The loans include a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 70%, a maximum term of 12 years, and are available on residential properties with up to four units.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Member Business Lending LLC, of Salt Lake City, said yesterday that First Entertainment FCU and Utah First FCU both have joined the business loan CUSO. MBL has established itself as one of the leading business lending CUSOs, with its 20 other member credit unions generating the most SBA 7 (a) loan originations each month since its 2004 inception. MBL is the 20th ranked SBA lender in the country.

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Power Financial CU announced a new ‘Cash Back Checking’ account yesterday that will pay a high rate and offer rebates of ATM surcharges paid by members on other institutions’ cash machines to help drive electronic transactions. To be eligible for the account, members must make at least 12 Power Financial Visa debit card transactions per cycle; accept electronic statements; and complete three Power Financial bill payment transactions per cycle. Members with balances as low a $1 can earn dividends up to 6.01% plus rebates of up to $20 on ATM fees per cycle. Accounts with balances over $25,000 will receive rewards, as well.

MECHANICSUBURG, Penn. – Members 1st FCU said yesterday it has signed with Ultimus to automate and optimize its paper-based business processes. Using the Ultimus BPM Suite, the $1.3 billion credit union plans to automate its most common global paper or manual processes first, starting with human resources. Ultimus is based in Cary, N.C.

WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Members United Corporate FCU announced yesterday it has completed the acquisition of the Illinois CU League Service Corp’s check processing operation and plans to complete the integration of the two operations in the fourth quarter. The ICUL operations process checks for 175 credit unions in the Chicago Fed District, and processes about 4.5 million items a month. Completion of the deal comes as Members United is preparing to connect to SVPCO, the national check and image exchange network. Members United, which started as the corporate for the Illinois League, has been growing through acquisitions recently, having just been approved to acquire Central CU Fund, the nation’s oldest corporate. Members United is the $13-billion product of a combination of Mid-States Corporate FCU and Empire State Corporate FCU.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Credit union executives are opposing a proposal by NCUA that would open up all ground-breaking community charters to public scrutiny. "From our perspective, the most potentially dangerous part of this proposal is the requirement for a public notice and comment period to be posted in the Federal Register for some community charter applications," said Gary Grinnell, president of Corning CU, in a comment letter on NCUA’s bid to set new community chartering rules. "We feel that a credit union’s field of membership is between the credit union and its regulatory agency, not competitors, community activists, opponents or even supporters." Grinnell and other credit union executives worry that opening the community chartering process to public comment could invite new legal challenges and deter credit unions from seeking new markets. E.L. Gull, Jr., chairman of the board at Chartway FCU, went further, saying to open up the community chartering process to public scrutiny would only invite new fights with the banks, "thus undermining credit unions’ ability to rapidly seize business opportunities." Carlyn Roy, executive vice president at OSU FCU, likened the public comment period to publishing a member’s loan application in the local newspaper and asking for community input if it would require an exception approval. NCUA has proposed issuing newly defined communities that do not meet the standard definition of a community out for a 30-day public comment period. Most of the credit union commentators also asked NCUA to amend its rules to allow them to keep serving their select groups after converting to community charters, something that is currently barred by HR 1151, the 1998 CU Membership Access Act.