HALES CORNERS, Wis. – Corporate Central CU said yesterday it has signed with Jack henry & Associate’s Symitar to provide it directly with core data processing. Symitar will provide the service through its Episys-based service bureau offering. Previously, Corporate Central used Symitar’s data processing system through U.S. Central CU, but U.S. Central has discontinuing its data processing services for corporates.

BISMARCK, S.D. – In the latest drive to consolidate state credit union trade association, the North Dakota and South Dakota credit union leagues announced yesterday they are merging and will now operate jointly as the Mid-America CU Association. Tony Richards, who will preside over the new organization, said it was the first time two leagues have actually combined operations. In recent years, the Colorado league has assumed operations for the Montana league; the California league for Nevada; and more than a decade ago, the Massachusetts league assumed operations for the New Hampshire and Rhode Island leagues. The new organization, MACUA, will provide services for 90 credit unions in the Dakotas.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA approved a request yesterday to provide non-dividend paying accounts to members who do not have a Social Security number or other taxpayer identification number. The ruling will make it possible for immigrants without legal documentation to establish mainline financial accounts. The accounts, however, NCUA said in a legal opinion letter to West Denver Community CU, must comply with all of the applicable regulations, like the Truth in Savings Act. While the FCU Act allows credit unions tp pay dividends on share accounts, it does “not require dividends be paid on every type of share account,” said NCUA. Such accounts are being seen by credit unions as a away of bringing unbanked immigrants into the mainstream, even if they have not established residency in the U.S.

ALTOONA, Pa. – An ATM technician was charged with stealing $281,000 from machines at three local credit unions he was responsible for filling with cash. Randall Replogle, 40, has paid back most of the money he allegedly stole from ATMs owned by Blair County FCU, Altoona Regional health System FCU and Huntingdon County FCU, but is still short some of the funds, according to police. Replogle called attention to his own scheme when he reported $30,000 missing from a Blair County FCU ATM, because he said he didn’t want to be accused of stealing the money. After the credit union began investigating, he began to move funds between the different ATMs he was servicing to try and cover his tracks, according to police.

KENSINGTON, Md. – Opponents of the bid to turn Lafayette FCU into a bank vowed to purse their effort to oust the board of directors, even if the $330 million credit union succeeds in the charter switch. “Even if it goes through they’re not going to see any of that money,” Scott Steins, a Lafayette member, told The Credit Union Journal of an ongoing petition drive to recall the board. Lafayette said Wednesday members had voted in favor of the conversion to mutual savings bank and they had submitted the vote count to NCUA for certification. But Steins said they will continue to press their case for a special meeting where members will be asked to vote on a recall of the board for their support of the conversion to bank. He said they are about 80% of the way to collecting the 750 member signatures they need to activate a Lafayette bylaw that requires the Board to call a special meeting. Lafayette Chairman Arnold Rosenthal and President Michael Hearne told a handful of members attending last Saturday’s special meeting to finalize the conversion vote they plan sell stock to about 45% of the savings bank to raise capital.

JACKSON, Mich. – Credit union members can give their friends and relatives something different to warm their hearts–and bodies–this Christmas–the Gift of Energy. Five credit unions around the state are offering members gift certificates of up to $50 that recipients can use to defray the costs of their monthly electric bill with Consumers Energy these cold winter months. Consumers Energy, a unit of CMS Energy, is the state’s dominant electric utility and serves more than six million of Michigan’s 10 million residents. Participating credit unions include: CP FCU, ELGA CU, Clawson Community CU, GR Consumers CU, and Consumers Choice CU. The gift certificates, available in $10, $20, $25 and $50 denominations, are also available at the Consumers Energy offices.

SAN DIEGO – Websense, a provider of online data security systems, said yesterday it has agreed to acquire PortAuthorty, the developer of the DataLeak data protection solution, for $90 million in cash. The two companies had been negotiating a partnership agreement, with a combined product to be sold by Websense, which was slated for release in early 2007. Websense is publicly owned and had revenues of $46 million for its third quarter. PortAuthority is owned by four venture firms, Greylock, Lexington Ventures, NEA and Sequoia. It has about 70 customers, including United Nations FCU.

ATLANTA – The proposed acquisition of John H. Harland by Clarke American parent M&F Worldwide is expected to undergo intense scrutiny by federal antitrust regulators, as it once again removes a major player form the dwindling check printing market. The deal combines Harland, the second-biggest check printer, with Clarke American, the third-largest check-printer which M&F bought last year for $800 million. Perelman was attracted to the industry because of the steady flow of cash the companies generate, analysts said. It is the second time in a year a Harland deal has eliminated a competitor in the market, following last year's acquisition by Harland of Liberty Enterprises. All of the firms, including industry leader Deluxe Corp., have experienced diminished returns from their check businesses, as electronic commerce continues to eat into paper check volumes at growing rates. Both Harland and M&F emphasized yesterday after announcing the merger that the deal is conditioned upon approval by the antitrust division of the Federal Trade Commission. M&F, which is controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman, has agreed to acquire Harland for $52.75 a share–a 19% premium over Tuesday’s closing price of $44.47 a share–or $1.7 billion. The M&F, formerly known as McAndrews & Forbes, is the Perelman holding company that acquired such name brands as Revlon cosmetics and Marvel comics and established Perelman as one of the preeminent corporate raiders during the 1980's and ‘90's. With Intuit’s planned acquisition of Digital Insight, and Carlyle Group's acquisition of Open Solutions, it is the third takeover of a major credit union outsourcer in the past six weeks. As part of the Harland deal, Harland will be required to pay M&F a $52.5 million break-up fee if the deal doesn’t go through. After announcement of the deal, Harland shares rose 13% to close at $50.31 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

DALLAS – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas announced yesterday it will repurchase all of the surplus stock held by its members, that is, all capital stock that exceeds 110% of its minimum investment requirement.

KENSINGTON, Md. – Lafayette FCU said yesterday its members had voted to approve the conversion of the $330 million credit union to a mutual savings bank. Credit union officials did not reveal the vote but said the results have been submitted to NCUA for certification. Lafayette officials said it expects NCUA to rule no later than Jan. 2. If approved, Lafayette will be the 31st credit union to complete the conversion to mutual savings bank.

KENSINGTON, Md. – Lafayette FCU said today its members had voted to approve the conversion of the $330 million credit union to a mutual savings bank. Credit union officials did not reveal the vote but said the results have been submitted to NCUA for certification. Lafayette officials said it expects NCUA to rule no later than Jan. 2. If approved, Lafayette will be the 31st credit union to complete the conversion to mutual savings bank.

ATLANTA – In the latest deal for a major credit union outsourcer, the John H. Harland Co. announced this morning it has agreed to be acquired by M&F Worldwide Corp. for $52.75 a share, or $1.7 billion. M&F Worldwide is the parent of well-known check printer Clarke American, a strategic partner for more than 3,200 credit unions and banks. Under the deal, expected to close in the second half of 2007, Harland will become a wholly owned unit of M&F Worldwide. The transaction is subject to review under federal antitrust rules. The deal follows recent acquisitions of Open Solutions Inc. and Digital Insight, two of the largest credit union outsourcers.

ATLANTA – In the latest deal for a major credit union outsourcer, the John H. Harland Co. announced this morning it has agreed to be acquired by M&F Worldwide Corp. for $52.75 a share, or $1.7 billion. M&F Worldwide is the parent of well-known check printer Clarke American, a strategic partner for more than 3,200 credit unions and banks. Under the deal, expected to close in the second half of 2007, Harland will become a wholly owned unit of M&F Worldwide. The transaction is subject to review under federal antitrust rules. The deal follows recent acquisitions of Open Solutions Inc. and Digital Insight, two of the largest credit union outsourcers.

DALLAS – TNB Card Services said yesterday it acquired credit card portfolios from five credit unions in Missouri, Michigan and Texas. The selling credit unions are: Heart ‘O Texas CU, Waco, Texas; Mountain Star FCU, El Paso, Texas; Kensington Valley Community CU, Highland, Mich; Southpointe CU, St. Louis, Mo; and Jeffco CU, Festus, Mo. TNB is a subsidiary of credit union-owned Town North Bank.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv Chairman Donald Dillon has been taking advantage of a run-up in Fiserv shares to new highs, raising $10.6 million with the sale of 200,000 shares last Thursday at $52.77 each. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show the 66-year-old chairman of the Fiserv board has raised almost $50 million with the sale of one million Fiserv shares since the first of the year. Dillon still holds more than 3.4 million Fiserv shares valued at about $180 million.

CALABASAS, Calif. – Digital Insight said yesterday it has signed with Entrust to offer its clients transaction monitoring using the Entrust TransactionGuard product. Entrust's transaction monitoring tool will help enable security administrators among Digital Insight's financial institution client base to monitor transactions and receive alerts concerning potentially fraudulent online activity. Digital Insight, which provides Internet banking services for more than 750 credit unions, is in the process of being acquired by financial software giant Intuit Inc.

CALABASAS, Calif. – Angelo Mozilo, the founder and chief of Countrywide Financial, may not have a year like last year when he earned more than $150 million, but he may come close. The head of the world’s largest mortgage bank, exercised options for 70,000 shares last Friday at $9.60 each, then sold the shares for $41.46 each, netting $2.2 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mozilo has netted almost $7 million by exercising options over the past two weeks, and more than $82 million since the first of the year. Still, that’s down from last year, when he netted $119 million from cashing in his options, and almost $150 million in total compensation, making him one of the highest paid executives in the country.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A women who held up Alaska USA FCU last year to pay her back rent was sentenced Monday to four years in prison. Elizabeth Steele told the judge she robbed the credit union branch inside the Fred Meyer Store out of desperation becaue she didn’t have the money to pay rent for herself and three kids. The 35-year-old mother said she also used some of the money from the December 19 heists to buy Christmas gifts for her kids.

DALLAS – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas announced yesterday it will repurchase all of the surplus stock held by its members, that is, all capital stock that exceeds 110% of its minimum investment requirement. The Dallas Bank also announced it is boosting its dividend for the fourth quarter to 5.25%, from 3.99% for the same quarter last year, and from 4.91% for this year’s third quarter. The fourth quarter dividend will be paid in the form of capital stock on December 29. The Dallas bank has 900 members, including 34 credit unions.

SALT LAKE CITY - Beehive CU said it has introduced Visa prepaid gift cards and Visa prepaid TravelMoney cards at its eight branches. The gift cards can be purchased by members for $3.49 and loaded with a minimum of $25 and maximum of $500. TravelMoney cards are available to members for $7.95 with a minimum load of $250 and maximum of $9,999.99. Both cards will be offered year-round and are good anywhere Visa debit card is accepted.