ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA said last week a federal credit union may fund potential employee benefit plan obligations with investments that are not permissible for a federal credit union.

LAS VEGAS - Online members have been slow to buy retail gift cards at the prepaid-and downplayed-card website at Silver State Schools CU.

TREVOSE, Penn. - An online training platform has some employees champing at the bit to complete compliance courses at TruMark Financial Credit Union here.

The Credit Union Journal has a very special announcement. Thanks to the support of the CO-OP Network, as part of our Business Development & SEG Conference April 12-13 in Boston, the Journal has arranged for a tour and dinner at America's Credit Union Museum in Manchester, N.H.

* Co-op Services Credit Union, Livonia, Mich., raised $500 for MCULLAF, the federal PAC.

MILWAUKEE - Metavante announced it has acquired Valutec Card Solutions Inc., a Franklin, Tenn.-based gift card supplier and processor. The deal gives Metavante's financial institution clients the ability to offer merchant-branded cards and services to their customers. Valutec has more than 13,000 merchants in its client network.

JANUARY

ALBANY, N.Y. - Alternatives FCU received a $60,000 grant from the Empire State Development agency that the community development credit union will use to help women and minority businesses.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - In honor of the recent Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson was joined by Board Member Gigi Hyland and 17 agency staff members to volunteer at the Carpenter's Shelter, a homeless shelter. "Dr. King truly exemplified the volunteer spirit and it is fitting to honor his legacy by volunteering our time to help make a difference," said Johnson.

The following are members of Credit Union Journal's Technology Panel.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Housing Finance Board said last week it has terminated the rare supervisory agreement it had with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, which barred the Seattle Bank from paying dividends for three years without regulatory approval, or from approving any stock redemptions before the mandatory five-year period.

LAHABRA, Calif. - Employees with big flash drives are the worst threat to information security today, but South Western Federal Credit Union (SWFCU) here has shored up the threat with USB security software.

SAN DIEGO - USA FCU said it is offering $7,500 in college grants through its Martin P. Cassell Scholarship program.

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UNFCU Financial Advisors website was listed incorrectly. The correct address is www.unfcuadvisors.com. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

WASHINGTON - The new Democratic majority approved a bill that would cut interest rates on guaranteed student loans in half, at the expense of banks, credit unions and other student lenders, setting up a confrontation with President Bush.

ORANGE, Calif. - Video killed the telephone at a $50-million credit union here, and now bridges the communication gap between employees at remote branches-and a board member clear across the country.

Throughout 2007, the Credit Union Journal is profiling the credit unions of each U.S. state and D.C. Rather than appear in alphabetical order, the states are being featured in the order they became states.

DEARBORN, Mich. - Linda Malec, DFCU Financial board candidate and former board chairwoman, has asked the NCUA to take action against the $1.8-billion CU for allegedly disregarding its bylaws-again.

WASHINGTON - The prominence of the Lafayette bid, which was supposed to culminate in the sale of stock in an initial public offering, attracted many professional investors and other speculators.