WASHINGTON -
"Home ownership levels are at the highest level in history," Hood commented, but said "unscrupulous lenders" have led many consumers into mortgages with which those consumers will be hard pressed to keep up. "That's why I talk about not just home ownership but sustaining home ownership."
Hood encouraged credit unions to get more involved in "post-purchase counseling" instead of only focusing on pre-purchase education to help prevent foreclosures.
Mortgages aren't the only area where consumers may be preyed upon by unscrupulous lenders. Hood called on CUs to take note of the peer to peer (P2P) lending activity. "There is no regulation of that space," he said. "Generation X and Y are most likely to get their information from the Internet, and they can least afford to be led astray by unscrupulous lenders who can take advantage of the fact that no regulations exist in peer to peer lending."
Noting the stagnant growth of credit unions, Hood suggested credit unions need different tools to be able to attract new members and remain viable. Another way to beat stagnant growth: more outreach to youth.
