SAN FRANCISCO - The Credit Union Economists Group (CUEG) met with officials of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to discuss issues affecting CUs.
“CUEG appreciated the opportunity to meet with President Janet Yellen, who is considered by many to be very influential,” said Tun Wai, CUEG member and director of research/chief economist with NAFCU. “Credit unions need to let the Federal Reserve know we are not the cause of the current market turmoil and, in many ways, are prudently assisting members every day in their time of need. We continue to stand ready and able to be part of the solution.”
During the informal meeting, CUEG said its representatives discussed the housing market, credit union loan quality issues and the group’s economic outlook.
“We have entered a critical period in consumer finance where middle- income, working families risk losing access to reasonably priced credit. The nation’s credit unions are working to fill this void,” Dave Colby, CUEG member and CUNA Mutual Group chief economist, told the Fed staff.
CUEG member Bruce Beaudette, president of Sunmark FCU, discussed CU loan quality, specifically bankruptcies, charge-offs and delinquencies, while Dwight Johnston, CUEG member and WesCorp’s vice president of economic and market research, discussed mortgage lending and the current housing market.
