McLEAN, Va. – Mortgage rates inched up this week, as economic indicators were positive. The average for the 30-year, fixed-rate loan rose to 6.23%, from 6.21% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage moved to 5.98%, from 5.96%, according to Freddie Mac. ARM rates also moved slightly higher, with the one-year ARM average climbing to 5.51%, from 5.44% last week; and the five-year ARM average moving 6.03%, from 6.04%. “Interest rates drifted slightly higher following the latest positive economic reports, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. Shoppers bustling through the holiday season boosted December's retail sales above consensus expectations. In the same month, industrial production reversed a three-month decline and rose faster than had been anticipated.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Community charter grants of a million of more people, once an exception that needed approval from the full NCUA Board, have become increasingly commonplace in recent months. NCUA reported yesterday it approved a community charter encompassing 2.7 million residents, almost all of Long Island, N.Y., last month, for Island FCU, one of its largest community grants ever. The regulator also approved a charter covering almost two million people in Florida for McCoy FCU. Both charters were routinely approved by the respective NCUA regional offices because similar community grants have already been approved by the NCUA Board. Over the last two months NCUA has also approved a grant of 1.4 million people for North Jersey FCU; of 1.4 million for River City FCU amd of 1.1 million for Bronco FCU.

SALT LAKE CITY – Three area elementary schools were the recipients of almost $19,000 in grants from the Utah CU Association’s 100% for Kids Education Foundation. The schools will use the grants to supplement appropriations from their local districts and help pay for new programs. The Foundation has provided almost $4 million in grants to local schools and districts since its inception three years ago.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – City officials are criticizing a decision by Raincross CU to merge into the larger Visterra CU and are planning to sever their ties with the 53-year-old credit union, originally chartered to serve city workers. City council members are encouraging city employees and residents to patronize locally based credit unions as part of their ‘Shop Riverside’ campaign, meant to keep local sales tax dollars in the city. Raincross, which claims around 7,000 members and about $40 million in assets, was founded in 1954 as Riverside City Employees CU and has been losing members in recent years. Like many smaller credit unions, Raincross management saw better prospects as part of a larger credit union and chose the $400 million Visterra CU, known till last year as March Community CU, from four local suitors.

NEW ORLEANS – A former teller who stole more than $670,000 from inactive accounts at the McNeese FCU was sentenced Tuesday to more than four years in federal prison. Cristella Belaire, 41, of Lake Charles, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered her to pay back $783,985 to the credit union for McNeese State University after she is released from prison. Belaire pleaded guilty in October to theft and embezzlement charges. Once Belaire finishes her prison term, she must pay $13,066 a month until all of the money is paid back. Authorities said Belaire targeted 16 accounts which were rarely accessed or used by the owners of the accounts, but maintained high balances. She shifted funds between the accounts to fool the auditors and NCUA during the eight-year scheme. The restitution order includes repayment of the stolen funds and interest to be paid to the credit union insurer, CUNA Mutual Group.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A young woman faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty this week to skimming cash from dozens of area ATMs. Twenty-seven-year-old Lavoya Dixon told authorities she spent almost five months teaching friends, relatives and neighbors how to use the float to make off with thousands of dollars from the cash machines. Empire FCU was one of the biggest victims, losing more than $66,000 between August 2005 and January 2006. Dixon taught her accomplices how to make phony ATM deposits in envelopes, then withdraw the funds before the credit unions and bank realized the shortfall in the accounts. After recruiting people to open accounts and obtain ATM cards, Dixon and her accomplices would deposit minimal amounts or nothing in transactions made to look as if they were depositing hundreds of dollars. Then they immediately withdraw the cash. They would go to the ATMs on weekends because they knew the credit unions and banks wouldn’t process the transactions until Monday.

ALLEGANY, Md. – The former assistant manager at City, County State of Allegany County FCU pleaded guilty yesterday to a loan scheme that cost the credit union about $500,000 in losses. Richard Shives, 49, of Cumberland, gave special treatment to 12 members, including refinancing of under collateralized loans, or loans to delinquent members or who had inadequate credit history, prosecutors said. Shives falsified reports to NCUA to hide the scheme.

MINNEAPOLIS – Wolter Kluwer Financial Services, the provider of education and compliance services for credit unions and banks, said yesterday it has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Banconsumer Service, Inc., a provider of regulatory compliance solutions in the Northeast. BANCO’s main offerings include pre-printed and electronic forms for the indirect lending market, as well as for the mortgage and home equity markets. As a result, Wolters Kluwer will provide pre-printed forms, electronic documents and electronic contracting solutions to the majority of the top tier U.S. auto finance lenders. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wolters Kluwer, a unit of Dutch-based Wolters Kluwer nv, is best known for its Bankers Systems, PCi, Wiz, and VMP Mortgage solutions.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Edentify Inc. said yesterday it is partnering with BANKDetect to create a new identity risk assessment and monitoring solution. The partnership will combine Edentify’s IDScreenT technology with BANKDetect’s RiskTracker-ID/CIPT and Risk-Tracker-AMLo. The combined systems will help financial institutions to verify applicant identities and detect a vast range of suspicious activities related to money launder, fraud and terrorism financing in one integrated process.

ITHACA, N.Y. – CFCU Community CU announced the availability of 15 $1,000 scholarships for members attending college. Recipients will be chosen based on academic achievement, extracurricular and community involvement, letters of recommendation, completion of an essay and financial need. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or others preparing to enter college for the first time as full-time students, and members of CFCU. However, anyone living, working, attending school or maintaining a business in Tompkins or Cortland Counties is eligible to join the credit union.

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York said it has awarded an $850,000 grant to Sunmark FCU to help improve and rebuild the City Mission of Schenectady homeless shelter. The funding will be used to add 20 beds to the 43-bed 50-year-old shelter, as well as to upgrade the electrical system, build a commercial laundry, and convert an unused kitchen into a shower and bathroom. Sunmark will sponsor and administer the renovation project.

PASADENA, Calif. – Wescom CU announced yesterday is has signed with AT&T to provide it with a primary private global voice and data network, and a new Multiprotocol Label Switching-based disaster recovery network. The MPLS network will transport all mission-critical financial data from Wescom’ s 47 remote branches to the credit union’s newly constructed operations center in Anaheim in the event of an emergency or disaster. The deal renews and expands a long-standing relationship between the two companies.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Redwood CU said yesterday it has partnered with the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce to offer a new program which will allow local businesses to pledge travel dollars to support Horizon Air's commercial airline service from Sonoma County, scheduled to begin in March. The pledge drive is part of the Santa Rosa Chamber's $500,000 Advance Ticket Purchase Program supporting the launch of Horizon Air service in Sonoma County, and will include a co-branded Redwood CU VISA debit card that business members can use to purchase air travel with Horizon. To participate, local businesses can establish a no-fee Redwood CU dividend-bearing checking account with a $1,000 minimum, to be used toward airline ticket purchases. RCU will issue exclusive custom debit cards to be used to access the deposited funds for the purpose of purchasing tickets on Horizon Air. Horizon will initially be offering two daily round-trip flights to Los Angeles and one daily round-trip flight to Seattle from Sonoma County.

SAN DIMAS, Calif. – WesCorp FCU said yesterday it has agreed to acquire Internet broadcaster CIA Studios from The Rochdale Group, a consulting company headed by former U.S. Central CU President Dan Kampen. WesCorp has been a pioneer in webcasting with its popular Market Update and Breaking News features, as well as its annual Operation Best Wishes, which allows soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to communicate with their families every Christmas. WesCorp plans continue webcasting at CIA Studios and to expand the services to include, among other things, video news releases. CIA Studios was part of Counterintelligence Associates, the well-known credit union consultants which was acquired in 2005 by Rochdale, from CommunityAmerica CU.

WASHINGTON – The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would cut the interest rate on many student loans in half, putting even more pressure on the dwindling number of credit unions that continue to make student loans. The legislation would lower the rate from 6.8% to 3.4% in stages over five years for need-based loans. The proposal would cost about $6 billion and affect nearly 5.5 million students who get the subsidized loans each year. The $6 billion would be raised by reducing the government's guaranteed return to lenders who make student loans, cutting back the amount the government pays for defaulted loans and requiring lenders to pay more in fees.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Pacific Service CU said it will reimburseATM fees for members with direct deposit checking accounts. Members can use any ATM and if the ATM charges a fee, the credit union will automatically reimburse the fee. The $1 billion credit union said ATM fees will be reimbursed at the rate of $3 per transaction up to $12 per month.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv announced yesterday its ACCEL/Exchange ATM network has signed with Allpoint, a unit of Cardtronics, to provide credit union and bank members surcharge-free access to 32,000 ATMs. The deal will expand ACCEL/Exchange’s own surcharge-free alliance, called ‘No SUR’, by adding the Allpoint machines. Credit union and bank members of ACCEL/Exchange looking for surcharge-free ATMs will now have the option of signing on to the Allpoint network or No SUR alliance, or both.

AUSTIN – University FCU announced yesterday it will contribute $500,00 to the renovations of the main floor at Perry-Castenada Library at its main sponsor, the University of Texas.

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Police identified a body found Monday in the Chicopee River as that of Douglas Smith, who was charged along with his mother, Carol Aranjo, of looting D. Edward Wells FCU, the once prominent community development credit union. Smith was missing since November when he was reported to have capsized while trying to retrieve a canoe from the rising river. Smith, his mother and father have all been charged in an 86-count indictment with embezzling funds from the now defunct CDCU. Aranjo was a nationally known figure among community development financial institutions and once chaired the National Federation of CDCUs.

AUSTIN, Texas – University FCU announced yesterday it will contribute $500,00 to the renovations of the main floor at Perry-Castenada Library at its main sponsor, the University of Texas. The funds will be used to redesign the former periodicals room into a community study area with new furniture, shelving, lighting, a student gallery and technology upgrades. This will be the first renovation of the University’s main library since its dedication in 1977. The west end of the main floor will be known as UFCU Student Learning Commons. This is the largest gift to the University from the credit union, which had previously donated almost $420,000. The credit union, chartered in 1936 by a group of University of Texas professors, pledged in 2005 to contribute $13.1 million over 15 years to the renovation of the University’s baseball stadium.