Considering the attention regulators and lawmakers pay to the underserved these days, it was no wonder NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood dropped in on United Services Credit Union here last month.

To make sure a positive credit union "message" got through to state lawmakers and policymakers, CU lobbyists were out in force last week wining and dining at the annual National Conference of State Legislatures.

The lessons have been painful, but in a candid look-back on the eve of the Katrina anniversary, the president/CEO of Singing River Federal Credit Union said last week his $130 million CU has made it through a challenging year in fine shape with surprisingly low delinquency ratios.

NCUA's field of membership policies were stirring new talk last week about federal-to-state credit union conversions with Colorado's top CU regulator speaking out about CU concerns following the fed-to-state switch this month of a $120 million suburban Denver CU.

In an almost eerie case of d?j? vu, CUNA has turned back a banker-backed attempt to write new policy language revoking the credit union tax-exemption into the official position of the National Conference of State Legislatures convened here last week.

The merger trend among Michigan credit unions hasn't let up, with at least one more medium-sized consolidation in the pipeline.

Pressures on net interest margins show no sign of change in the months ahead "with little on the horizon that would push longer yields higher," according to a top Callahan & Associates executive and economist.

Credit unions, using their advantage of member loyalty, should be doing a much better job than banks on indirect lending, but it requires "schmoozing" dealers, giving them upfront deals on buy rates and looking more carefully at C, D, and E paper as profitable investments.