SAN DIEGO – An apparent amphetamine addict was charged in El Cajon Superior Court Wednesday with hold-ups of 12 credit union and banks over the past nine months. Bradley Spagnolo is charged with robbing credit unions and banks in La Mesa, El Cajon and San Diego, including branch offices of First Future CU, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, Bank of the West. The prosecutor said there is a “substantial methamphetamine addiction,” and was robbing banks to feed that addiction. Spagnolo told bank tellers he was armed when he demanded money but never displayed a weapon or threatened anyone, police said. He was jailed in jail in lieu of $1 million bail pending a June 6 hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a trial.

WALL STREET – Shares in EFD, known until recently as eFunds Corp., rose yesterday after news that a hedge fund had taken a major stake in the funds processor. The company, which is rumored to be a target–as competitors have fallen prey to takeovers in recent months–reported earlier that it has been approached by potential suitors. New York-based Scoggin Capital Management reported Wednesday that it has acquired 3.2 million EFD shares, a 6.8% stake. EFD provides transactions processing for the credit union-owned CO-OP Financial Services and provides processing and fraud prevention for dozens of credit unions.

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rates continued to rise this week, to their highest level in 10 months, according to Freddie Mac. The average for the 30-year, fix-rate loan rose to 6.53% this week, from 6.42% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.22%, from 6.12%. ARM rates also climbed, with the average for the five-year ARM inching up to 6.24%, from 6.19%; and the average for the one-year ARM rising to 5.65%, from 5.57% last week. Freddie Mac’s chief economist Frank Nothaft attributed the rising rates to inflationary fears. “Mortgage rates climbed this week owing to market concerns of a tight labor force and wage growth,” said Nothaft. He said that bond markets have also grown concerned about renewed inflation pressures, reflected in a report this week that unit labor costs rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first three months of this year, double the government’s initial estimate.

WALL STREET – What appears to be a little more than a five-month investment in MasterCard paid off big with a $250 million gain for one hedge fund. Lone Pine Capital LLC. The investment fund sold its 4.9 million shares, a 6% stake in MasterCard, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filings indicated the hedge fund earned about $50 a share on the five-month run-up of MasterCard, almost $250 million. Shares in MasterCard have more than tripled in value since May 2006, when the company went public, making it one of the hottest stocks on the NYSE.

OMAHA – Last week’s acquisition of Fiserv’s brokerage business has prompted several hedge fund investors in TD Ameritrade to push for a sale of the online brokerage. Shares of Ameritrade jumped over the past week after company reported it had received a letter from investment funds Jana Partners and S.A.C. Capital Advisors urging the company to make a deal in the interests of the majority of shareholders. The two hedge funds said they would like to see Ameritrade combine with either E-Trade Financial Corp. or Charles Schwab Corp. The bid to sell the company came just days after it the Ameritrade acquired the Fiserv Brokerage Services and its $28 billion under management. Ameritrade is 40% owned by Canadian banking giant Toronto-Dominion Bank.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – A Las Vegas couple were charged with a prepaid debit card scheme that drained more than $30,000 from three South Dakota financial institutions, including $25,000 from Black Hills FCU. A federal indictment charges that Aigner Angel, 23, and Leo Ramsey, 38, went to the $600 million credit union last Nov. 13 and 14 and tried to get cash advances on bogus prepaid cards. When the cards were rejected for inadequate balance to cover the cash advances, Angel had credit union employees purportedly call the number on the phony cards to obtain authorization. In reality, Angel was calling Ramsey, who provided a fake authorization for the cash advance and instructed the employees how to override the system to obtain authorization, the indictments charge. The defendants were also charged with springing the scheme on the local US Bank and First Dakota National Bank branches.

WASHINGTON – Federal banking regulators–and NCUA– told Congress yesterday that legislation may be needed to give them more power to enforce fair credit card practices. The regulators, including NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson, were testifying before the House Financial Services subcommittee exploring potential reforms to the Federal Reserve’s Reg Z, governing credit card disclosures. Several bills have already been introduced to amend credit card disclosures and bar certain practices, and lawmakers suggested they may have to act if the Fed does not beef up its own Reg Z amendments to protect consumers from unscrupulous lender practices. "The Fed hasn't done squat to deal with this problem and doesn't seem to be doing squat about it," said Rep. Mel Watt, a North Carolina Democrat, at yesterday’s hearing. Spencer Bachus, Republican from Alabama, agreed with the Democrat, saying “Although I believe the (Fed) proposal will be an improvement for consumers, I am not convinced that it does enough to stop abusive credit card practices. More than just enhanced disclosures may be needed."

SALEM, Ore. – The state Senate yesterday approved a 36% cap on all consumer loans, reinstating a state usury law and completing a package of bills that eliminate triple-digit interest rates charged by payday and car title lenders. The legislation transforms Oregon from one of the most payday friendly states in the nation to one of the most strictly regulated -- with the exception of 11 states that effectively ban payday lending. It restores a usury law, which legislators scrapped in 1981 during a recession when inflation and interest rates skyrocketed. The new law caps interest rates on all consumer loans at 30 points above the Federal Reserve discount rate, now at 6.25%. The bill goes back to the House for a vote on minor housekeeping changes, then to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who has said he will sign it into law.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Retail giant Wal-Wart Stores announced yesterday it plans to launch a Visa-branded prepaid card that targets customers without bank accounts, carving out a larger piece of the financial services market. The card will allow holders to make purchases, withdraw cash at ATMs and to pay bills. The move comes just two months after Wal-Mart abandoned plans for a U.S. banking charter, but as the company is building a chain of banks in Mexico and increasing its in-store offerings in the U.S. Wal-Mart already offers check-cashing, bill-payment and money-transfer services to more than 2 million customers each week and is building its own ATM network. Most of these products are offered at the company’s 170 MoneyCenters. Wal-Mart also offers full financial services at 1,500 of its stores through correspondent relationships with 300 banks and credit unions, which operate in-store branches.

MANASAS, Va. – Employees of Synergy One FCU, otherwise known as the Synergizers, raised $18,100 for this year's March of Dimes Campaign. This is the 12th consecutive year that Synergy One FCU has participated in this event. The team, made up of 36 employees, raised money for more than 12 weeks. The fundraising consisted of selling official March of Dimes Beanie Babies, wrist bands, and sneakers to their membership.

NEW ORLEANS - A group of 84 credit union executives and officials offered sometimes stinging comments during the third of six NCUA Outreach Task Force “Town Hall” Meetings here Wednesday, fostering lively debate, but generally arriving at consensus on multiple concerns over effectively serving low-income members. The meeting, held in conjunction with the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions’ 33rd annual “Serving the Underserved” Conference, considered four major issues derived from the Task Force’s 2006 report. Topics focused on NCUA’s regulatory role, low-income definitions and designations, data collection procedures, and the publication of executive compensation. Some criticism was leveled at examiners who failed to understand the challenges of serving members of modest means and seeming insensitivity to those members and their communities. The roundtable discussion groups urged NCUA to provide them with increased flexibility if they are to serve low income groups. The Filene Research Institute’s Bob Hoel moderated the session.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Mister Money, a provider of technology for the pawnshop and subprime loan industries, said yesterday it has received a patent on its automated process for verification, scoring and approval of cash advance and payday loans. The process has been automated in a self-service kiosk for loan processing. The process cuts costs for providing payday loans by as much as $10 each. The payday loans are being offered through the company’s wholly owned Alternative Financial Solutions subsidiary.

JACKSON, Miss. – Wireless Internet service provider Cellular South announced the launch yesterday of the first multi-city consumer trial of its WirelessWallet, a new technology that allows consumers to make purchases and payments using their cell phones. The two-city trial, taking place in Jackson, Miss., and in Memphis, Tenn., will allow cell phone users to make purchases at 50 retail locations. Participants in the pilot include: Kyocera Wireless, which provided its handset; ViVoTech, a provider of payment software that resides in the handset; Mpact, which provides reader deployment and NFC content; and USA Technologies, which provides a wireless reader.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Greylock FCU said yesterday it has acquired family-owned Gallup & Casey Insurance Services and will combine it with its own insurance operations, acquired in 2004. The deal transaction that will make Greylock the Berkshire's only county-wide agency. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The combined insurance agency, which will operate under the Greylock name, will have $15 million in premiums and an estimated 9,000 customers.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Converted credit union OmniAmerican Bank announced yesterday it has named a new president and CEO to succeed long-time chief Larry Duckworth, who died suddenly Feb. 8. Tim Carter, 52, a long-time banker who served as chief of Texas Commerce Bank and Chase Bank after it merged with Commerce, will take the helm of the $1.5 billion ex-credit union on June 25. OmniAmerican, which converted from credit union in January 2006, is preparing an initial public offering that is expected to raise as much as $100 million, one of the biggest IPOs ever for a converted credit union. The naming of a new CEO will clear the way for the IPO.

WASHINGTON – Even with the growing number of data security breaches, legislation to reign in online identity fraud is fading away as key parties to the issue continue to hold to divergent paths. Campus FCU President John Millazo urged members of the House Small Business Committee yesterday to pass a data security bill that would set up a new regulatory scheme for retailers and other merchants who tap into credit union and bank account via the payments systems; a scheme that would require immediate notification to customers of a data breach; payment by parties responsible for the breach for public notification and cards reissuance and fines for repeat offenders. Such a bill, said Milazzo, who was representing NAFCU, ought to exempt credit unions and banks, which are already subject to stringent data security standards under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. But Mallory Duncan, head of the powerful National Retail Federation, said his group is adamantly opposed to government regulation of data security. “Congress should proceed with caution in attempts to apportion costs and blame,” said Duncan, whose group won the huge $3 billion antitrust settlement against MasterCard and Visa. Mark McCarthy, senior vice president for Visa USA, illustrated the major conflicts inherent in the card company’s position, refusing to take a position on any of the proposed bills. Both Visa and MasterCard are owned and controlled by their issuing banks (MasterCard went public last year but is still controlled by large banks), but their customers are the nation’s six million retailers. The Small Business Committee is the eighth congressional committee to take up the issue, making it increasingly unlikely that Congress will be able to come to agreement on data security legislation any time soon.

HOUSTON – ATM giant Cardtronics Inc. assured credit unions yesterday that its planned takeover of the 5,500 ATMs in 7-Eleven convenience stores won’t interfere with the planned connection of almost 2,000 of the machines–all Vcom financial self-service kiosks–to the Financial Service Centers Cooperative. “We will honor the contracts that are in place,” said Keith Myers, executive vice president of Cardtronics, of the FSCC plans, as well as the CO-OP Network’s branding of 5,300 surcharge-free ATMs in 7-Eleven stores. Sarah Canepa-Bang, president of FSCC, said she is excited about the Cardtronics deal. “This is actually good for us. The deal with 7-Eleven is still going forward. What this does is it gives us an introduction to the entire Cardtronics network,” she said, adding that the roll-out of the 7-Eleven Vcoms has been pushed back until July, for technological reasons. Myers told The Credit Union Journal yesterday that Cardtronics, which also serves the Credit Union 24 network and provides hundreds of credit unions services through the Allpoint network, sees credit unions as major partners. “This is part of our strategy, part of our vision,” he said. “And it puts us in a position to offer services to more credit union and more consumers throughout the United States.” Cardtronics, which currently owns or operates 23,500 ATMs in the U.S., has agreed to take over the 7-Eleven network for $135 million, giving it control over 28,500 ATMs, the largest fleet in the country.

HOUSTON – Cardtronics Inc. leapfrogged some of its customers yesterday to become the major player in electronic funds transfers for credit unions with an agreement to acquire and operate the 5,500 ATMs in 7-Eleven convenience stores. That includes 5,300 that are co-branded for the credit union-owned CO-OP Network and 2,000 self-service financial kiosks that are about to be connected to Financial Service Centers Cooperative, the shared branching network for credit union. “This is a big deal for us,” Chris Brewster, the company’s chief financial officer, told The Credit Union Journal last night. The $135 million deal will expand the Cardtronics network to more than 30,000 ATMs, with locations in every major U.S. metropolitan area, the U.K. and Mexico. The deal gives Cardtronics the 10-year exclusive rights to operate all ATMs and advanced financial self-service kiosks in 7-Eleven’s U.S. stores and comes as FSSC is poised to unveil 1,900 self-service kiosks in 7-Elevens later this month. About 2,000 of the 5,500 ATMs under the Cardtronics contract are self-service kiosks, or Vcom machines, which will be added to the FSSC network. Cardtronics already provides ATM services to hundreds of credit unions through the Credit Union 24 network. The deal also calls for Cardtronics, which is also the parent of the surcharge-free Allpoint Network, to assume ownership or to operate all ATM and Vcom equipment currently owned or leased by 7-Eleven, as well as maintenance, cash replenishment, processing, customer service and operational functions for the machines. The transaction is expected to close at the end of June, around the time the FSSC deal is scheduled for unveiling.

LAS VEGAS–Credit union expansion into underserved markets can be seen in the companies offering credit bureau information that are following them there. During CUNA’s America’s Credit Union Conference here, several vendors were on hand with solutions aimed at resolving a challenge in serving low-income people: incomplete or even absent credit bureau files. Linda Moynihan Vance, VP-Credit Unions with TransUnion, said a partnership the well-known credit bureau has recently entered into with a third party is providing information that can “ measure risk in areas where not been measured in the past: people who are young to credit, payday borrowers, immigrants. This can help credit unions to serve these populations in some markets.” Vance said approximately 20% of consumers do not have enough information on file to have a credit score. Similarly, spokespersons for Teletrack in Norcross, Ga., which is a credit bureau for subprime lenders and which tracks data from those firms plus Rent to Own outlets, pawn shops and others, said it can fill in the blanks with members who do not have a credit file with the big three bureaus. One surprise for credit unions, according to Teletrack: between 18% and 22% of current credit union members have borrowed money from a payday lender at last once.

LAS VEGAS –A group of people “passionate” about credit unions is trying to figure out why most Americans are not. Dick Ensweiler, president of the Texas league and chair of CUNA’s new Membership Growth Task Force, said the group is considering nine questions related to credit union growth, but all of it really comes down to one challenge. “As credit union leaders, here we are believing in service to members and in the credit union difference,” Ensweiler told the Credit Union Journal during America's Credit Union Conference here. “But 70% of Americans don’t belong. Why are we so passionate and they’re not? Where are we missing the boat? There seems to be this huge disconnect.” Ensweiler noted credit unions talk about being not-for-profit cooperatives, yet in focus groups consumers say those things don’t really matter. “We have to ask, ‘Are we on the wrong course?’” Or, is the issue that credit unions simply aren’t communicating well, he posited. If credit unions are to agree on a common brand, the issue must be answered, Ensweiler said. He noted that a related issue is that in areas where there are multiple CU community charters, credit unions spend time and money differentiating themselves from each other, rather than from banks. “It all sounds simple, but it isn’t,” he said.