ELGIN, Ill. – Lending Solutions announced yesterday that 10 credit unions have signed to its Internet-lending services. They are: Allegius CU, Canton School Employees FCU, Eagle Louisiana FCU, FEC FCU, Forest Kraft FCU, Jefferson County Employees CU, Lubrizol Employees’ CU, Members CU, Putnam FCU and Wichita FCU.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Aimbridge, a leading provider of indirect auto loan services for credit unions, unveiled yesterday a new service to allow credit unions to provide decisions on auto loans during extended hours, weekends, holidays, or on a full-time basis. The company’s Credit Desk Support has been pilot-tested in Florida by several Aimbridge credit unions. CDS trained underwriters will be available from 6 am to 7 pm (MST) seven days a week and credit union can select to use the service on a full-time basis or for designated hours or on-demand.

PORTLAND, Ore. – TRM Corp., the nation’s second largest operator of ATMs and a major credit union partner, could be delisted from the Nasdaq as early as Thursday under a notification by the stock market. TRM, which has delayed its financial reporting to determine possible modifications related to 2006 loan agreements and the sale of four business segments, has requested a hearing to appeal the delisting notice. The company operates about 17,000 ATMs, about 6,000 of which are part of the credit union-owned CO-OP network, and trails only Cardtronics as the biggest provider of ATM services.

HARTFORD, Ct. – State regulators are scheduled to meet with credit union executives next week to help clarify the filing requirements and calculation of the Unrelated Business Income Tax, better known as UBIT. The Department of Banking, which has been in the forefront of UBIT negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service, is holding a conference in conjunction with the Connecticut CU Association next Wednesday at Capital Community College in Hartford. Among the issues to be discussed are recent guidance issued by the IRS to several state chartered credit unions on what is taxable under UBIT.

DENVER – First Data Corp., which has agreed to be taken over by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., said yesterday it has completed the takeover of Wells Fargo’s Instant Cash Network, a provider of ATM services for 500 financial institutions, a third of them credit unions. Instant Cash Services provides debit card and ATM processing and provides surcharge-free access to more than 6,700 Wells Fargo ATMs. First Data is the owner of STAR Systems, one of the largest regional EFT network in the country. Wells Fargo will continue to provide surcharge-free access to its machines after completion of the deal. KKR has agreed to acquire First Data for $29 billion in cash and the assumption of debt in one of the biggest corporate takeovers ever.

DETROIT – The front of the Michigan First CU branch here was torn away in the early morning hours yesterday when one or more crooks used a U-Haul to yank the ATM right out of the building. Witnesses told police they saw the truck drag the cash machine down the street as it smashed into parked cars and strew trails of debris during the pre-dawn heist. Police said the robbery occurred around 4 am. It is not clear how much cash was in the hijacked machine. There are no suspects in the heist.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense is expected to propose rules later this week that would apply the new 36% maximum rate on loans to military personnel to payday loans, title loans and refund anticipation loans; thereby exempting add-on services like GAP insurance, credit insurance, identity theft insurance, overdraft privileges and courtesy pay fees, as requested by credit unions. But the Pentagon has rejected a plea by the banking lobby for a broad exemption for all loans provided by federally insured financial institutions. A draft of the proposal reviewed by The Credit Union Journal, is expected to be issued later this week for public comment. Fred Becker, president of NAFCU, which has been involved in drafting the rules, said NAFCU is concerned that the DoD not set a wide net that would restrict legitimate loan practices relied on by service members. “We hope credit unions will be able to continue offering the traditional loan products that they have been able to provide for years to members of the military,” Becker said yesterday. CUNA had urged the DoD to exempt a variety of fees and charges when calculating the new 36% rate for loans to military personnel, including loan add-ons and supplemental services, like credit insurance and courtesy pay fees.

SEATTLE - The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle reported it had turned around failed interest-rate bets to post healthy financials for its fourth quarter and fiscal 2006, a $6.2-million and $25.8- million net, respectively.

FORT WORTH, Texas - CUNA Mutual Group officially opened its new customer operations center here last week as part of its ongoing effort to revamp its approach to customer service and streamline its operations.

TOTOWA, N.J. - Lourdes Garcia "never minded rolling up her sleeves to get a job done."

BOSTON - NCUA has agreed to review its merger guidelines to see if they adequately address so-called hostile takeover attempts, such as Wings Financial FCU's bid to acquire Continental FCU.

DALLAS - The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas said it will pay members a first quarter dividend of 5.25% on their shares, up from 4.44% paid for the first quarter last year, and the same as the fourth quarter payout.

WASHINGTON - Credit union insiders worried about the threat to credit unions coming from the bankers who want to repeal the CU tax exemption or convert healthy credit unions to banks, may miss the bigger threat coming from folks who have long been associated with CUs.

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. - Wings Financial has not just looked at Continental FCU as a merger partner, it has also been looking at the $290-million FAA First FCU, Los Angeles, which has an air transport TIP. John Wagner, a spokesman for the Minnesota credit union giant, confirmed that Wings had acquired an Internet domain, FAAFirstWings.com, the same day it acquired the Continental/Wings.com domain, where it is soliciting Continental members. "We've explored a lot of different options," said Wagner. "FAA's a well-run shop."

WASHINGTON - Thousands of runners fanned out through this city with the credit union brand affixed to their fronts as part of the annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run. The race-in which more than half the runners were members of area credit unions raised $828,000 for the Children's Miracle Network, a favorite credit union charity, which has benefitted by more than $2.5 million since credit unions began sponsoring it six years ago. More than 700 volunteers from 51 credit unions helped out along the route through the Capital City's streets. Both the women's and men's winners were world-class runners from Ethiopia. Teyba Erkesso, 24, won the women's race in 51:44, believed to be a world record for women, and her countryman Tadasse Tola, 19, won the men's division in 46:01. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

MADISON, Wis. - CUNA Mutual Group hastened to reach out to its credit union clients after hundreds of CU CEOs received an e-mail urging them to vote against the proposed merger of CUNA Mutual Insurance Society (CMIS) and CUNA Mutual Life Insurance Company (CMLIC).

WASHINGTON - The House Financial Services Committee approved a new regulatory scheme for the secondary mortgage market, but not before debating the guaranteed line of credit, the so-called federal subsidy, for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Family Trust FCU, Rock Hill, S.C., announced that Chip Hutchison was named top investment advisors by INVEST Financial Corporation.

SALT LAKE CITY - Representatives of NCUA and NASCUS met here three days to discuss current and emerging issues. In addition to the three NCUA board, members, 35 state regulators were also on hand for the National Regulators Meeting. Representatives of both groups are set to meet again for an Interagency Dialogue scheduled during the NASCUS State System Summit, Aug. 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

TOTOWA, N.J. - Lourdes Garcia "never minded rolling up her sleeves to get a job done."