JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Maury Pilver first had the idea to create a trade association representing credit unions that serve the healthcare industry about 15 to 20 years ago, but the busy CEO of the HealthAmerica Credit Union here had trouble finding the time to make it happen.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers have begun an investigation into a new online scam in which banks and credit unions are being asked to process and accept unsigned checks created by criminals.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood has unveiled a new initiative aimed at raising the profile of credit unions among college students as an attractive and rewarding career choice.

NEW ORLEANS - It may take several years for Comunidad Latina FCU (CLFCU) to completely operate on its own, but that doesn't worry officials at partner institution Orange County Teachers FCU (OCTFCU). The two Santa Ana, Calif., credit unions are designed to serve two different member segments and together provide services for both English- and Spanish-speaking community members.

NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - CU Village.com has introduced a new version of its flagship Content Management System (CMS) that allows clients to easily update the information that appears throughout its site. All new sites launched by CU Village.com, beginning with the first quarter of 2007, have utilized the updated CMS.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Two years after returning to California and taking the helm at CO-OP Financial Services, CEO Stan Hollen describes the job as the "perfect position for me. It's very rewarding."

BOULDER, Colo. - Elevations CU, the former University of Colorado FCU, has applied to state regulators to convert to a community charter serving almost 350,000 residents of the two surrounding counties, Boulder and Broomfield.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Meet the newly-formed OBDC, six credit unions with a mission: dream up the perfect online banking platform.

How does it feel when you attempt to read volumes of information pertinent to your job? The best way to beat that feeling is to prioritize, filter and simplify. This is why the dashboard idea is so compelling. I have recommended dashboards to audiences and clients for years.

Heard the same troubling story, but different anecdotes, from two different people last week. First, Dick Ensweiler, president of the Texas league and chair of the new CUNA Member Growth Task Force, noted that in areas where there are multiple CU community charters, credit unions are spending time and money differentiating themselves from each other, rather than from banks. This only makes the creation of a CU brand, among other things, all the more difficult, he observed. A day later, I spoke with a vendor to credit unions in Southern California who told me that the company has long offered regional user's meetings, but it has begun hearing from CUs that want to go to other region's meetings in order to not have to share anything with credit unions in their area.

Peer comparison surveys from 1996 and 2006 show that credit unions have made significant strides in the last decade while still facing similar challenges and threats. The members' service quality experience has improved, as have efforts to create a sales culture. However, interest in additional loans has decreased, and convenience and savings rates continue to be an Achilles heel. Member Research has been surveying thousands of credit union members annually for 20 years. This article shows some of the changes our statistics show over the last decade in a few key areas of member perception.

Editor's Note: the following is from a comment letter on NCUA's FOM and Chartering Manual from Charles Agricola, a former NCUA employee.

DEARBORN, Mich. – The Michigan CU Foundation will award one $2,500 scholarship to a student in each of the Michigan CU League’s 10 districts. The grants will go to students who plan to attend a university or community college in the state during the next school year. Applicants must have at least a 2.8 grade point average and submit a 500-word essay, a record of community service and two letters of recommendation.

EUGENE, Ore. – The FBI and local police are searching for a suspect they believe robbed eight credit unions and banks inside supermarkets. Dubbed the ‘Grocery Store Bandit,’ the believe the suspect is the one who robbed the OSU CU branch inside the Safeway in Keizer. The suspect has worn a series of disguises during his hold-ups; changing hats; wearing a wig and different sunglasses, the FBI said. During the OSU CU heist he implied he had a weapon.

SHEFFIELD, Ala. – Members of Listerhill CU were reporting unauthorized transactions on their accounts after a local retailer apparently had their card payment system hacked into. Visa USA was not disclosing who the retailer was, but accounts at other area credit unions and banks are believed to have been compromised too. The breach occurred around three weeks ago. The credit union was notifying members by mail of the data breach and agreed to pay back members for fraudulent transactions.

CHICAGO – A chewed-up straw dropped into a waste basket has led to the arrest of a suspect in last summer’s armed robbery of a Healthcare Associates CU branch. A federal grand jury indicted Robbie Evans June 12–exactly a year to the day of the hold-up–after he an accomplice allegedly robbed the credit union of almost $12,000 at gunpoint. Evans was identified after investigators noticed in surveillance videos that one of the robbers tossed a straw he had been chewing into the trash can moments before moving towards the teller and whipping out a pistol. The straw was retrieved from the trash can and the state’s crime lab linked DNA and fingerprints on it to Evans, who is also wanted in Minnesota for check forgery.

LOS ANGELES – Water and Power Community CU said Friday it has signed with LifeLock to provide its members with identity theft protection services. LifeLock allows ‘locks’ be put on member accounts by setting and automatically renewing fraud alerts with the major credit bureaus; removing names from pre-approved credit card offers and junk mail lists and guaranteeing the service with a $1 million guarantee. The service is being offered at a discount to members of the credit union. LifeLock is based in Tempe, Ariz.

GLEN ROCK, N.J. – NCUA said Friday it has taken under conservatorship Peoples First Choice FCU, a $24 million credit union, a 33-year-old credit union chartered to serve employees of Nabisco Co. The federal regulator gave no reason for the takeover, but the credit union has reported declining net income, just $102,000 in 2006, and $29,500 for the first quarter of this year, even as it maintains adequate net worth of 9%. Loan delinquencies are running around 1.5%. Service will continue for the credit union’s 5,300 members as NCUA runs the institution under conservatorship.

SEATTLE – Three credit unions are rolling out a prepaid card program geared towards capturing unbanked and under-banked consumers. Connection CU, Verity CU and Waterfront CU are offering the card through Member Access Pacific’s Prepaid Card program. The Member Access Pacific Prepaid Card is reloadable up to three times, and credit union members and businesses may reload either online or at any credit union branch. The card can reload up to $1,000 each day per load, but credit unions have discretionary control over where they want to set the maximum load value for reloads.

ITHACA, N.Y. – Even though he retired last week from the community development credit union he helped charter, Bill Myers name will live on at Alternatives FCU as an internship for young people who want to promote social and economic justice. The Bill Myers Youth Internships will help expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents, just like Myers, who helped found Alternatives 28 years ago. The CDCU figure is recognized as a pioneer in the credit union movement, having introduced programs like payday lending, free tax assistance to low-income workers, in-school savings programs, credit rebuilding initiatives, and the definition of a living wage, which area businesses have come to use as a benchmark for paying their workers. Myers will continue to live in Ithaca but will now work as a fellow at the Aspen Institute, a think tank for economic justice, and for the National CU Foundation’s REAL Solutions program, developing financial initiatives to serve low- and moderate-income people.