BILLINGS, Mont. - Looking to a planned recodification of the state's credit union code in January, the Montana Credit Union League concluded a special nine-day series of "Legislator Appreciation and Education Nights" here last week as the League tries to encourage more grassroots involvement from credit unions and their members....

SALT LAKE CITY - The ongoing credit union-bank feud in Utah, which could draw national attention from CUNA, has heated up again with the formation of a new bank-funded organization aimed at focusing lawmaker attention to the tax-exempt status of CUs in the state. The latest bank-led barrage including TV...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Embarking on what it contends is a new direction on shared branching, Service Centers Corp., the Southfield, Mich. network, has developed a model partnership contract with five Ann Arbor CUs to operate and staff a "hybrid" shared branch in Saline, Mich. Depending on how the arrangement...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - When it comes to credit union cooperation on shared branching, the spotlight these days is on western Michigan with small CUs as the biggest cheerleaders of the trend-and with good reason: it's cheap. "The costs are really minimal with just the transaction fees," commented Vicki Lyon,...

POINT, Calif. - Anyone who doubted the sensitivity of the issue of credit unions switching to thrift charters only had to listen to the heated Webcast debate on Nov. 6 that pitted the president/CEO of the California Credit Union League against the president of a CU-converted San Diego bank. "Hans,...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Regulatory overkill is threatening the very survival of small credit unions and compliance with new anti-terrorist laws while high minded present a dismal picture for this segment of the industry, two top leaders of the Washington and California Credit Union Leagues have charged. In comments made in...

FORT KNOX, Ky. - Taking a cue from McDonald's, Fort Knox Federal Credit Union is once again installing extra auto tellers in its drive-through lanes in a "double stacking" configuration to speed up traffic and eliminate long queues. The Kentucky-based CU caused a stir a few years ago when it...

SANTA FE, N.M. - Renewing her call on credit unions to start or expand business lending, NCUA Board Member JoAnn Johnson said the agency in the coming months will be looking at "bringing parity to federals and perhaps beyond" with state CUs on acceptable powers. "I can't say now what...