Mich. Lawmakers Get CURIA Card

CUPERTINO, CALIF. - According to information technology giants Symantec and Intel, "virtualization" technology will play a large role in the financial services sector this year.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - A new Credit Union Institute of New Zealand has been created here with a goal of promoting excellence and professionalism in credit union governance and management, ongoing education and a code of ethics.

IOWA CITY - Although bad feelings continue to swirl at University of Iowa Community Credit Union, three board members facing reelection were approved by members.

DALMUIR, U.K. - The World Council of Credit Unions has renamed its newly remodeled conference room here as part of a tribute to Rose Dorman, a credit union leader who shaped credit unions throughout Scotland and England. Dorman died last year.

NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA - As much as (C) $60 million is being allocated here by the government of New Brunswick to help prop up the Caisses Populaire de Shippagan, a credit union that has suffered financial difficulties for the past three years.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's reported that its Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund received a total of 213 applications for 2007. The applicants requested an aggregate of $146.1 million in assistance. The CDFI Fund is making approximately $26 million available for awards, about $2 million of which will target what is known as Small and Emerging CDFI Assistance (SECA). Close to $2 million in funds are also being targeted to applicants that apply for Technical Assistance. The CDFI Fund is also making approximately $3.5 million available through its Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program. The NACA Program, similar to the CDFI Program, provides financial assistance awards and technical assistance awards to CDFIs that primarily serve Native American, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian communities.

AMSTERDAM - Wolters Kluwer NV, the provider of a variety of systems and e-learning for financial institutions, said it has received bids from five entities, most of them private equity funds, for its education division.

WASHINGTON - CUNA and NAFCU continued their efforts to tamp down a potential spreading of unfriendly merger solicitations among CUs, urging NCUA to write guidelines or rules, lest the internecine battle between Wings Financial FCU and Continental FCU attract the attention of Congress.

SAN FRANCISCO - Dozens of credit unions around the country are struggling to untangle their finances from a local mortgage lender that filed for bankruptcy, the first sign of contagion for the credit union industry from the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market.

ST. LOUIS - A new white paper from design/build and retail services firm NewGround examines why the cost of building financial institutions is on the rise.

CALABASAS, CALIF. - On the heels of being acquired by financial software giant Intuit, Digital Insight has released two products designed to consolidate a member's personal or business data on a credit union's website.

Vantage CU's Investment CUSO To Become Own Broker/ Dealer Page 3

HOLLYWOOD, FLA. - Investment Services Group, LLC, (ISG), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Vantage Credit Union, Bridgeton, Missouri, will soon become a broker/dealer, Frank Gluck, ISG's president/CEO told the Credit Union Journal.

LAS VEGAS - Credit unions looking to grow should follow the "three Ps" of financial services marketing, according to the founder of Market Insights.

WATERLOO, IOWA - As legislative leaders contemplate laws that would cap the interest on payday lending, Veridian Credit Union here is taking action now.

LAS VEGAS - Credit unions looking to grow should follow the "three Ps" of financial services marketing, according to the founder of Market Insights.

The unsolicited merger proposal from Wings Financial FCU recently presented to Continental FCU is generating much news coverage and discussion. Regardless of one's opinion about that situation, there is no doubt that the credit union industry is experiencing a seismic paradigm shift. Not surprisingly, certain purists within the industry are convinced the sky is falling. However, credit union industry pragmatists believe there are compelling business factors that have created this new dynamic. To them, a change in the rules of engagement is long overdue.

WASHINGTON - Members of Lafayette FCU presented the credit union with a petition signed by 821 members seeking a special meeting to recall the board members who voted in favor of converting to a mutual savings bank charter.

LAS VEGAS - A credit union of any size can reap the value of "free advertising"-also known as editorial coverage in the media-and the value of that media exposure shouldn't be underestimated.