OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Philosophical issues aside, conversions and consolidation (friendly and otherwise) in the credit union movement really come down to one primary issue: stagnation.

How do you plan to attract new deposits in 2007?

DULUTH, Ga. - Some credit unionists have been holding their breath since the 2006 "friendly takeover" of Nationwide CU by Nationwide Bank.

LOS ANGELES - Members already expect free service and easy enrollment when they sign up for bill pay, so credit unions are having to add a little icing to lure them in. And the icing they are using? Pricey iPods and furry stuffed animals. So say credit unions that are signing up more bill pay users than many of the nation's other financial institutions.

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The Credit Union Associations of Colorado and Wyoming, Arvada, Colo., named Jon Drogheo human resources consultant and Carmen Ortega grassroots organizer.

WASHINGTON - With the meltdown in the subprime mortgage market serving as a backdrop, major sectors of the mortgage market began to stake out turf last week during the onset of congressional debate on a new regulatory scheme for the secondary market.

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. - In what the CEO of the targeted credit union is describing as a "hostile takeover," Wings Financial FCU has taken its bid to merge with Continental FCU, El Segundo, Calif., directly to CFCU's members, urging them to pressure their board to return to the merger negotiating table.

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. - The proposed merger bid by Wings Financial FCU to Continental FCU raises numerous questions. Here's how WFFCU CEO Paul Parish responded to questions from the Credit Union Journal:

NCUA Board: NCUSIF Checks Are In The Mail

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The decision by Wings Financial FCU last week to go directly to the members of Continental FCU with an offer-and a reward-to merge is raising all new questions in a credit union community still anguishing over other tough questions. In this issue, the Credit Union Journal takes an expansive look at how the industry interprets the move by Wings Financial.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - OnPoint Community CU and Countrywide Financial unveiled a joint mortgage venture that will market the mortgage lender's products and services directly to members of the state's largest credit union.

ST. LOUIS - Annheuser-Busch Employees' CU announced it has agreed to implement OHVA Security's SoundPass multi-factor authentication software.

ATLANTA - A new survey has found consumers (75%) say they are more concerned now with fraud and identity theft than they were five years ago, with six in ten saying they strongly agree with the statement, "Financial institutions should be doing more to protect their customers from identity theft and fraud."

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RALEIGH, N.C. - State Employees CU, sponsor of the largest credit union scholarship in the nation, will award $15,000 in college scholarships annually to children of public sector workers who were fatally injured in work-related accidents.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The state Board of Regents approved a deal with University of Iowa Community CU for on-campus financial services that will allow students, faculty and staff to use their university ID cards as debit and ATM cards.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Credit unions have apparently avoided the crisis spreading through the subprime mortgage market, according to NCUA.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Bank Insurance & Securities Association (BISA) roared into South Florida and kept the need-for-speed motif going for three days.