ST. PAUL, Minn.—Yet another credit union is offering discounted rates on “green” auto loans. St. Thomas Employee FCU is offering a one-half percent discount on new and used hybrid vehicles through Sept. 30. The special rate ranges from 6.25% to 7.5% depending on the type of vehicle and whether it is new or used. Additional discounts are also available to some members based on their credit scores, the CU said.

LATHAM, N.Y.–Gov. Eliot Spitzer has signed into law a bill that gives state-chartered credit unions parity with their federal counterparts, according to the New York State CU League. The so-called wild card bill authorizes state-chartered credit unions to request additional powers from the New York State Banking Department without going through a sometimes-lengthy legislative process as long as they are powers federal credit unions already have under federal statutes. The law was originally enacted in March 1997 to provide competitive and regulatory parity between New York state-chartered banks and their federal counterparts. However, this law did not extend these essential provisions to credit unions. The league said getting this law enacted has been a legislative priority for many years.

WASHINGTON—The House Financial Services Committee Wednesday will hold a hearing on “Improving Federal Consumer Protection in Financial Services—Consumer and Industry Perspectives,” a follow up to the June 13 hearing on consumer protection with the federal financial regulators. Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said the hearing is aimed at giving committee members a chance to hear from industry and consumer advocates on the future of federal consumer protection in the financial services sector to determine whether the current regulatory structure is adequate for handling potentially unfair and deceptive financial practices.

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers once again are taking a closer look at a variety of tax-exempt organizations. The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee is holding a hearing today that will focus on tax-exempt charitable organizations. While credit unions are not expected to be a focus of this hearing, CUNA’s Dean Archer noted that any not-for-profit could come under scrutiny. Although Subcommittee Chairman Lewis has indicated the need to support efforts by these tax-exempt organizations to serve their communities, any such exploration into tax exemptions can make credit unions nervous, as some lawmakers have suggested that credit unions need to do a better job of serving underserved communities.

WASHINGTON—At least six states are in the process of setting up funds or are investigating establishing funds that would help homeowners who are locked into subprime mortgages. The funds would help those homeowners refinance into loans with more affordable payments. Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania are all expected to make such funds available to homeowners, with as much as $500 million in total dollars underwriting the funds. State officials said a one goal is to prevent vulnerable neighborhoods from deteriorating further as homeowners become unable to make payments because their mortgage has repriced. Giant secondary players Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are involved in the discussions and would purchase the loans under some of the states’ plans. The Mortgage Bankers Association has forecast that more than one million U.S. homes will go into foreclosure during 2007, about 2.3% of the total. Sixty percent of those loans are subprime mortgages, the MBA said.

SURREY, B.C. - Coast Capital Savings' website has a star attraction. And her name is Julie.

ST. LOUIS - Missouri's new credit union field of membership bill will go into effect Aug. 28, now that Gov. Matt Blunt has signed it into law.

SURREY, B.C. - Coast Capital Savings' website has a star attraction. And her name is Julie.

The Hamilton News in Ohio provided coverage of a joint effort between Student Lending Works and CHACO Credit Union aimed at helping students make wise decisions when borrowing to finance college. The story addressed and debunked a half-dozen myths related to college financing. The story quoted representatives of both organizations.

JULY

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The east side of Phoenix might as well be Mars for members who live on the west side.

Suncoast Schools Chooses FIS

LAS VEGAS - New member enrollment at BECU has increased 40% over a year ago, thanks to awareness and branding campaigns that helped solve the mystery of what a "BECU" is.

CUANM Raises $45K For Hospital

CUISPA Is Exploring IT Risk

MIDDLETOWN, Penn. - When Edward S. Fox retires as CEO of Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU next year, the part of the job he'll miss the most is what he calls "the people thing."

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. - Claire Ippoliti, vice president of lending for the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, recently spent one week volunteering in the 9th Ward to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. She did so as part of the "people-helping-people," philosophy.

TAMPA, Fla. - Credit unions raring to build business with commercial loans may still trip over their own core systems.

Are only the big dog credit unions destined to survive or can small and medium-size CUs have the bite to be successful, as well? In the July 16 issue the Credit Union Journal profiled just this issue. Now take a minute or two, log onto www.cujournal.com and click Letters to the Editor and start barking.

KENSINGTON, Md. - Credit unions are getting better at preventing outsiders from compromising data, but the next challenge is to keep insiders from doing the same, especially via e-mail.