ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Federal credit unions' combined share of first- and second-lien mortgage volume, including home equity lines of credit, nearly doubled last year, to 6.19% last year, from 3.62% in 2007, according to data compiled by SourceMedia Inc.'s MortgageStats.com and NCUA.
If Navy FCU's numbers are any indication, that growth is continuing. The Vienna, Va., lender is well on its way to matching and possibly topping last year's $5.7 billion in originations; in the first five months alone it originated $3.3 billion in home loans.
Navy Federal said 48% of its refinance volume in the first five months came from borrowers who previously had loans with other lenders.
Credit unions have not been immune to the fallout from the boom's excesses, and as a group they hold a fair amount of second-lien products, which generally are riskier than first-lien loans. But usually they tend to enjoy a better reputation than many lenders.
"People are looking for people they can trust to originate a mortgage," said Les Parker, the president of Parker & Co., a mortgage advisory firm whose clients include credit unions.
But how much more business credit unions can do is another issue. As is the case for other lenders, while some federal policies are benefiting CUs' mortgage production prospects, others are hurdles. The Home Valuation Code of Conduct that lenders must now follow in obtaining appraisals on loans headed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has slowed volume at many lenders, including Navy Federal (see related story, page 1).
