Hearings

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Seems that nobody in credit-union-land wants to make the first move when it comes to implementing the new Microsoft Vista.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Microsoft Vista is here, like it or not, and many credit unions aren't ready.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Digital Defense, Inc., a provider of threat and security information management services, has placed Rick Fleming, a member of the company's management team, on an indefinite leave of absence in the wake of child pornography charges against him.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nearly 200 people "attended" a web seminar hosted by the Credit Union Journal and Mark Monitor entitled, "Protecting Your Members Against Phishing Attacks."

WHAT: Credit Union Journal's Business Development & SEG Conference

Alaska USA CUSO Sponsors Iditarod

FSCC Unveils New Kiosk

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Four local men were sentenced to prison for their roles in string of armed robberies, including January's theft of $313,000 from Commonwealth CU in Kankakee.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Dave Mowat, CEO of one of the most innovative credit unions in the world, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity), is leaving in June to become president and CEO of ATB Financial, Edmonton, Alberta.

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Central Corporate CU is partnering with Ceto and Associates to offer cash vault management to credit unions.

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - Sixty-nine card portfolios of more than $1-million in outstanding balances were sold by credit unions during 2006, according to analysis by Brookwood Capital.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Members of Think FCU last week approved the conversion of the $1.2 billion credit union to mutual savings bank, the third billion-dollar-plus credit union to switch to a bank.

WASHINGTON - Members of the House and Senate have introduced bills to expand Individual Development Accounts, which have provided matching deposits for thousands of credit union members across the country. The bills would build on the 50,000 IDAs created so far and add another 900,000. The program provides tax credits to participating financial institutions that match the savings of low-income participants, up to $500 a year. In introducing the House bill, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones cited several credit unions in her homestate of Ohio for blazing a trail on the fledgling low-income savings program, including Faith Community United CU, Midwest Family CU and Fiberglass FCU.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The credit union trade associations are putting pressure on NCUA to intervene in what California-based Continental FCU has described as a "hostile takeover" bid by Minnesota-based Wings Financial FCU.

VIENNA, Va. - Everybody wants a piece of the new dashboards that Navy FCU is using to manage key performance indicators (KPI).

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Credit Union Business Services (CUBS), a CUSO owned by the Alabama Credit Union League and 11 Alabama credit unions, has agreed to purchase CEBCO and CEBCO Staffing, a Birmingham-based Professional Employer's Organization (PEO) and temp-to-perm employment services company. "This acquisition enables CUBS Resources Ltd. to service more than 100 companies and more than 2,000 employees in 15 states," CUBS said.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - For the second time in two months, the NCUA Board last week set a hard-and-fast standard on community fields of membership, barring two Ohio credit unions from serving almost 2 million people surrounding Cincinnati.

ROCKTON, Ill. - Wal-Mart Stores opened its second high-efficiency Wal-Mart Supercenter, which is expected to use 20% less energy that one of its typical Supercenters.

MIRAMAR, Fla. - A major shift within the banking industry has made the time right for credit unions to strengthen their positions, particularly within the small business community, according to one person.