SAN FRANCISCO - Fear and awareness of identify fraud may be up, but actual cases are down, according to a new survey.

Congratulations to any and all credit unionists who can Hike the Hill this week for CUNA's GAC and do so with a straight face. Because you've come a long way, baby, and the ability to talk one game while walking another is the true hallmark of a Washington insider, and isn't that what credit unions set out to do a decade ago?

BEDFORD, Mass. - Two-factor authentication should find a receptive audience among consumers, according to a new survey.

WASHINGTON - The sounds of cheering from the day before were still ringing in Eric Richard's ears when the phone rang in the Green Room, the speaker waiting area backstage at the Hilton Washington's International Ballroom.

NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Credit union members nationwide saved more than $2.4 million on mobile phone service in 2006 with discounts from Sprint Nextel's partnership with CUcorp, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan league. CUCorp President Drew Egan said 187 CUs in 17 states participated by offering members significant decreases in cell phone services as well as a portability, nationwide coverage and calling plans.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - US Federal Credit Union has joined forces with two area not-for-profits to open a new type of financial center aimed at an underserved population.

PORTLAND, Ore. - While many Americans have heard of methamphetamines and identity theft, they might not think to use them in the same sentence-but they should, according to one law enforcement veteran and crime consultant.

BEDFORD, Mass. - Look for some "pretty scary" security threats to blow in this year, in the form of do-it-yourself kits that allow amateurs to launch man-in-the-middle attacks, and invisible Trojan computer viruses.

ASHEVILLE, N.C.-The Asheville Citizen Times ran a story about the growth of credit union shared branching, highlighting the ability of members at Premier Federal Credit Union to do basic transactions at any of more than 2,400 other CU locations in 45 states by joining a network. The story failed to identify the network, however, but quoted Rita Willis, Premier's regional branch manager saying, the CU handles about 500 such transactions a month, mostly from vacationers and part-time residents. The story noted that shared branching may be CUs' competitive answer to the banking industry's extensive network of branches across the country, citing the Charlotte-based Bank of America's 5,700 banks and 17,000 ATMs.

MADISON, Wis. - She's been called everything from "Ms. Credit Union" to dynamic mentor, role model and teacher of the people-helping-people philosophy. It's not uncommon to hear her name and words such as "amazing" and "inspiring" in the same sentence.

LOMBARD, Ill. - Raddon Financial Group says it has developed a new measure that reaches directly to the bottom line for those who use its consulting services: the Loyalty Index.

MARCH

WASHINGTON - NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood, who sits on the board of NeighborWorks America, wants homeowners in hurricane-stricken New Orleans and elsewhere to know that the organization is making a special counseling service available to those individuals who are being faced with foreclosure.

NAFCU Partners With GMA

Rate Compression Still Squeezing CU Movement

Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union, Anchorage, promoted Elvie pineda to City Hall branch manager.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - As the sale of Centrix Financial LLC, approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Elizabeth E. Brown for $30 million, becomes final, credit unions hurt by subprime losses are licking their wounds and lenders everywhere are looking for lessons to be learned.

The "modest means" study, MSAP, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report are fading into the credit union movement's rear-view mirror. No startling revelations, no damning findings, no sweeping legislative recommendations-and thanks to Congressional transitions, no adversarial Ways and Means Chairman to lead an offensive against credit unions. Actually, it was all a little anticlimactic.

WASHINGTON - The CU lobby had hoped to have its regulatory relief bill-known as CURIA-introduced before CUNA's Government Affairs Conference, but lobbyists were still haggling last week over a single number.

WASHINGTON - A year ago the buzz around CUNA's Government Affairs Conference was of two Texas credit union giants that had just deserted the credit union charter and a still larger one in Michigan that was preparing to convert to mutual savings bank.