MADISON, Wis. - (02/21/05) -- Loan growth among credit unions thisyear is expected to slow from its heated 10% pace in 2004, butshould still be warm at as much as 9%, according to the CUEconomists Group. The group of seven credit union executives andthree trade group economists predicted member business loans andhome equity loans will pace credit union lending this year. "Whilefirst mortgage and vehicle loan growth should remain steady, homeequity loans and business loans--particularly in larger creditunions--should continue to grow," said Bruce Beaudette, presidentof Sunmark FCU, Schenectady, N.Y. "Rising property values over thepast several years have created an outstanding home market andmembers are taking advantage of this new-found equity to refinanceother debt and make large purchases in the Northeast." Creditunions can expect a further flattening of the yield curve as theovernight FedFunds rate climbs towards 3.7% by year-end andlong-term mortgage rates move towards 6.5%, according to Tun Wai,chief economist at NAFCU and one of the founders of thegroup.
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Synovus Financial demonstrated at an industry conference how it is using Microsoft's Copilot to help its staff address customers' concerns.
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The U.S. arm of Spanish banking giant Santander has hired Swati Bhatia to oversee retail banking and its digital transformation efforts. Bhatia joins at "an inflection point" for the company, which aims to be "a digital bank with branches," CEO Tim Wennes said.
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Mariya Rosberg is named Americas head of banking and financial services at Marsh McLennan's Oliver Wyman unit; startup ZayZoon raised $15 million in a new funding round; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.
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Last year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based Integrated called off a deal to sell itself to MVB Financial after bank stocks took a hit in the aftermath of the regional bank failures. Capital hopes to expand its government-guaranteed lending with the transaction.
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Once a prominent figure spurring financial institutions to engage in cryptocurrency, Bankman-Fried's downslide began with the collapse of the digital asset exchange FTX in late 2022 and hit rock bottom with his sentencing to 25 years in prison.
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But the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is still near 7%, and that remains the overhang on the housing market, Freddie Mac said.
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