WASHINGTON – Chances for passage of data security legislation continue to fade away for this year as the House Financial Services Committee, the main focal point for the initiative, isn’t expected to introduce its own bill until later this fall. That makes passage of a bill very unlikely this year because there are as many as a dozen other bills that have been introduced in more than six congressional committees dealing with the issue and all of the bills would have to be pulled together into a single measure. The Financial Services Committee, which has set data security as one of its top priorities, has delayed introduction of its bill while it deals with a number of other priorities, including reform of the secondary mortgage market, subprime mortgage lending, and terrorism insurance, among others, a committee source told The Credit Union Journal.

SAN ANTONIO – Two brothers and an accomplice in the 2005 armed robbery at San Antonio FCU and the shoot-out with police that followed were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison. The three, Michael Hurtado, 24, and Liborio Hurtado, 26, and Armando Contreras, 26, pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder in connection with the three-county, high-speed chase that culminated in a shoot-out with police. The incident began when the three, wearing ski masks, bulletproof vests and carrying semi-automatic weapons, walked into the credit union on Dec. 22, 2005, made off with cash, then fled in a vehicle, they set aside and set on fire, before stealing another pickup truck. The three fired on police while leading them on a high-speed chase, hitting numerous vehicles, before crashing the pickup. Police found four semi-automatic handguns, a shotgun, and two SKS assault rifles in the pickup.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fidelity National Information Services revealed Tuesday that a worker at its Certegy subsidiary, the biggest processor of credit union accounts, stole 2.3 million consumer records containing credit card, credit union and bank account and other information. The employee, who was fired, sold the data to an unidentified data broker, who then sold some of it to a variety of direct marketing companies. The information has not been used for identity theft or other fraudulent uses, according to the company. About 2.2 million records stolen from Certegy contained credit union and bank information, while 99,000 contained credit card data. The stolen data contained names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and credit union, bank and credit card information. “As a result of this apparent theft, the consumers affected received marketing solicitations from the companies that bought the data. We believe that is the extent of any damage to the public,” said Renz Nichols, president of Certegy, during a conference call Tuesday. The data breach is the latest of a growing number of incidents where large volumes of personal information is being either stolen or leaked to the public.

DALLAS – TNB Card Services announced yesterday it has introduced a rewards program for the 475 credit unions it manages cards programs for.

HOUSTON – Cardtronics, now the largest provider of ATM services to credit unions, announced it will make the nation’s largest fleet of ATMs accessible to the blind by 2010 under an agreement with the National Federation for the Blind. The agreement, which ends years of litigation, requires 23,350 ATMs located in places like drugstores and train stations to be equipped with a voice guidance feature that can be activated by plugging headphones into a jack on the machines. The National Federation of the Blind will monitor the progress of Cardtronics in making the machines accessible. The agreement settles a suit brought by the Federation against E*Trade, which sold the ATMs to Cardtronics in 2004. “The ATM is the most common way for members of the sighted public to conduct financial transactions. To be full participants in modern society, blind people must have access to these devices,” said Marc Maurer, president of the Federation. Cardtronics, which is acquiring the 5,500 ATMs in the nation’s 7-Eleven stores, has become the largest provider of ATM services to credit unions, through connections to the CO-OP Financial Services and Credit Union 24 networks, and through its subsidiary Allpoint, which provides surcharge-free ATM access to hundreds of credit unions.

MILWAUKEE – Metavante Corp., which is preparing to go public in a spin-off from Marshall & Ilsley, said yesterday it hired Timothy Oliver, a 39-year-old treasurer at nearby Rockwell Automation, as its new chief financial officer. Oliver will report directly to Frank Martire, the old Fiserv executive who will be Metavante’s CEO. Metavante is a conglomerate of financial service companies acquired over the last three years by M&I, including the NYCE electronic payments network, the Endpoint Exchange electronic check clearing network, and several others. It is one of several payments systems being brought to the market over the next few months, including yesterday’s debut of Discover Financial Services, the parent of Pulse EFT, and Visa USA, which is going public in an IPO. The Metavante deal is a so-called sponsored spin-off, in which private equity fund Warburg Pincus has already acquired a 25% stake in the spun-off Metavante, in exchange for an investment of $625 million.

WASHINGTON – Loan delinquencies at the nation’s banks rose in the first quarter to their highest since 2001, the American Bankers Association reported yesterday. Delinquencies have been rising steadily over the past year, with the ABA’ index of eight kinds of loans climbing to 2.42% for the first quarter, up from 2.23% at year-end. In comparison, the delinquency ratio for credit unions was just a fraction of that, 0.7%, for the first quarter. James Chessen, chief economist for the ABA, attributed the poor loan performance to slow job growth, falling home prices and weak economic growth. “There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy,” said Chessen. The ABA survey found the delinquency ratio rose in the first quarter for home equity loans (to 2.15%); property improvement loans (1.61%); indirect auto loans (2.73%); personal loans (2.08%); mobile home loans (2.94%); marine loans (1.41%) recreational vehicle loans (1.03%) and decreased slightly for direct auto loans (1.68%). Also, delinquencies for home equity lines of credit, the lowest delinquency category, inched up to 0.60%.

WALL STREET – Yesterday’s debut of Discover Financial Services on the New York Stock Exchange was a dud, as the shares traded down almost 4%, to $27.50. The initial public offering, part of the spin-off of the fourth largest cards network from Morgan Stanley, was in stark contrast to last year’s IPO for MasterCard, the second largest network, which was a huge success. MasterCard shares have quadrupled in price since going public at $39 in May 2006, closing yesterday at $166.18. Discover’s IPO came just two years after the cards company acquired Pulse EFT, the electronic funds network for 4,100 credit unions and banks, which now makes up the backbone of the Discover network. Several other payment networks are scheduled to go public later this year, including Visa USA, which plans its own IPO, and Metavante, which owns the NYCE network.

DALLAS – TNB Card Services announced yesterday it has introduced a rewards program for the 475 credit unions it manages cards programs for. Rewards2U will offer brand-name merchandise to downloadable music, to unrestricted travel options and charity donations, as well as other links to other credit unions products and services. Rewards2U can be customized to that credit unions rename and rebrand to make it their own offering. TNB is also offering consulting services to educate credit unions on the best practices for the program. TNB is a wholly owned subsidiary of credit union owned Town North Bank.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve last week amended its Reg E, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, so that merchants will no longer be required to make a receipt available for debit card purchases of $15 or less. The regulation had required merchants to issue a paper receipt to consumers for all electronic debit card transactions conducted in physical environments. The new rule will be effective 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, which is expected soon. The move is expected to accelerate adoption of debit payment at unattended point-of-sale locations, such as vending machines, kiosks and other self-service machines.

NEW YORK – Melrose CU, one of a handful of area credit unions that specialize in financing New York taxi cabs, has joined a program that allows underbanked consumers to deposit cash and checks at dozens of locations throughout the city. Under the PayNet Deposit program, as many as 4,000 cab drivers who are members of the $900 million credit union may deposit their fares during or after their shifts at 150 check cashing outlets and credit union branches. The check cashing outlets are particularly convenient because they are open 24 hours a day. The PayNet outlets are fully manned. At least four credit unions, including Melrose CU, and six check cashing companies participate in the program.

BOULDER, Colo. – Boulder Valley CU is offering its members low rates on loans financing solar power in their homes to celebrate their own sun-powered initiative. The $140 million credit union has installed a 10-kilowatt solar powered system on the roof of its Arapahoe branch. The system will both lower energy costs and save on pollution. The credit union is celebrating its green initiative with special green loans and energy efficiency tips for consumers.

DENVER – In a broadening of the Centrix Financial scandal, Lyndon Property Insurance Co. filed claims in federal bankruptcy court last week alleging more than 81 credit unions owe it $130 million it paid out as coverage of Centrix’s subprime auto loan Portfolio Management Program. Lyndon, one of two Centrix insurers suing the company and its founder Robert Sutton, claims the credit unions schemed with Centrix to hide losses on the vast subprime auto loan portfolio, causing Lyndon to pay claims it wasn’t obligated to pay. From 1998 to 2003, Lyndon provided Default Protection Insurance on billions of dollars in loans originated by credit unions, relying on the underwriting expertise of both Centrix and the participating credit unions. But Lyndon claims it was kept in the dark about significant losses experienced by the credit unions and of alleged payments made by Centrix to the credit unions. Since Centrix filed for bankruptcy last year, Lyndon said the company provided it with a status list of 10,500 subprime auto loans, but intentionally concealed information on another 1,100 repossessions. Lyndon also claims that its contract with Centrix prevented credit unions from selling participation in the loans without Lyndon’s approval. Dozens of participating credit unions are now negotiating with credit union originators to buy back Centrix loans. In one such case, The Credit Union of Texas agreed to buy back $13 million in loans it sold to Mission FCU in a participation deal. Centrix is also being sued in federal court in New Jersey by Everest National Insurance, which provided Vendor’s Single Interest Insurance on many of the loans. Among the credit unions named in the Lyndon suit are: The Credit Union of Texas, Landmark CU, Meadows CU, F&A FCU, Alabama State Employees CU, Alta Vista CU, Arizona Central CU, Cabrillo CU, Campus USA FCU, Financial 21 Community CU, Gateway CU and Mutual Savings CU. Attorneys for several of the credit union did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU said yesterday it is expanding its year-old real estate agency, called PenFed Realty, to Fayettesville, N.C., the first step in plans to take it national. The $10 billion credit union chose Fayettesville as a beginning to its expansion plans because it already has a major presence in that market. PenFed Realty, which currently operates in the credit union’s main Washington, D.C., market, offers discounts to both home sellers and buyers, with sellers paying a 5% commission, and buyers 1%.

JULY

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COLORADO SPRINGS - Air Academy FCU is billing its new payday loan product as a smart solution to the short-term cash problems of its members, many of them Air Force cadets.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - CommonWealth CU said it has contracted with Lending Solutions Inc. to implement the company's 24/7 call center and Internet lending services.

ORLANDO — At long last, it's not just about the Baby Boomers anymore.