LAS VEGAS-With net interest margin declining and competition increasing, many credit unions have been forced to turn to non-interest income to survive-a fact one consultant applauds.

* Altier Credit Union, Tempe, Ariz., donated $21,000 to the Special Olympics Arizona.

Portsmouth, N.H. - Northeast CU has launched its redesigned website at www.necu.org.

WASHINGTON - The leadership of the House Financial Services Committee is beginning to take shape, with Pennsylvania Congressman Paul Kanjorski expected to chair the panel's subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, and not the subcommittee on Financial Institutions, which will debate his CU Regulatory Improvements Act, or CURIA.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The New Jersey CU League's 72nd Annual Meeting and Convention drew nearly 1,000 people this year, where such luminaries the captain of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal-winning U.S. Ice Hockey Team to "Bob, The Credit Union Guy" made appearances.

MADISON, Wis. - The Credit Union Executives Society and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union have cancelled the Executive Finance & Economics Institute, scheduled for Feb. 11-16.

How often has someone asked you, "Have you seen that TV commercial...," before they launch into a detailed description of the spot's storyline? The problem: they have no idea which advertiser created and paid for the commercial.

DURHAM, N.C. - Latino Community CU announced the creation of a new scholarship fund to commemorate Misrael Martinez, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who gave his life last month in the Iraq war.

WASHINGTON - Fannie Mae was awarded a patent for a system to trade greenhouse gas-reduction credits earned by homeowners, securing a foothold in a $22-billion market, while raising concerns that the government-chartered company is overstepping its mission. Granting of the new patent comes just weeks after the secondary mortgage market giant raised major controversy with a patent covering computer software that matches borrowers with the best mortgage. Former Chief Executive Franklin Raines is listed in the patent as an inventor of a system for verifying cuts in household emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The patent, held jointly with a subsidiary of New York-based Cantor Fitzgerald LP, gives Fannie Mae proprietary control over a method for pooling and selling credits to companies that can't meet emission reduction targets. (c) 2006 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

SEATTLE, Wash. - It seems that lately, Seattle Metropolitan CU CEO Robert Harvey can't go anywhere without people giving him a lock-eyed stare.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. - New England CU Services LLC, a CUSO owned by the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island credit union leagues, announced a deal to market the CO-OP Financial Services ATM network to the 270 credit unions in the three states.

OGDEN, Utah - Members of Goldenwest FCU got some help with their Christmas shopping this week-a one-time bonus dividend.

COSTA MESA, Calif. - According to the latest Experian-Gallup Personal Credit Index survey, nearly one in five (19%) consumers report they have had their financial information stolen, including a bank or credit card number. Approximately one in seven (14%) say they have had their personal information stolen, such as a birth certificate, driver's license or Social Security number.

WASHINGTON - A new remittance program being piloted by credit unions to help immigrants transfer funds to Mexico was being assailed last week as a subsidy to illegal immigration.

KOKOMO, Ind. - A woman suspected of stealing almost $500,000 while servicing credit union and bank ATMs before disappearing six years ago, walked into the police station and gave herself up.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Pay Rent, Build Credit has received a U.S. Patent for an alternative credit rating system that uses commonly recurring bill payments for individuals and small businesses to establish a credit file, credit report and credit score.

Regulatory demands - they affect all of us, but the impact varies dramatically depending on the size of the organization. The regulatory burden falls disproportionately heavier on smaller credit unions than it does on larger CUs. This is especially true for credit unions with less than 20 employees. The Office of Advocacy, a part of the Small Business Administration (SBA), suggests in a 2005 study that smaller businesses spend approximately $7,650 per employee complying with all federal regulations. Larger businesses, those with 500 or more employees, in comparison spent approximately $5,280 per employee.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Credit union representatives met again with the bankers to negotiate a bill that would settle their long legal battle over field of membership but were unable to come to an agreement, despite being urged to do so by state legislative leaders. "We're closer, I think, then when we started, but we're still far apart," Max Cook, president of the Missouri Bankers Association, told The Credit Union Journal.

SALT LAKE CITY - Mountain America Credit Union boasts five years without an increase in health insurance premiums.

Over the past several years, I have not only subscribed to The Credit Union Journal but have had the opportunity to work with The Credit Union Journal on numerous technology related articles (in particular, Kevin Jepson). I want to express my appreciation for the content improvements and professionalism that I've seen over the past year.