Lending

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Sen. Mike Crapo, the panel's top Republican, laid out a preliminary bipartisan agreement Tuesday on housing finance reform after months of deliberation.

SEATTLE -- In this cycling crazy city, one credit union has created a loan program just for bike riders, and is asking local residents to send in photos of their favorite bicycles.

The mortgage market has failed to shift from refinances to purchases as anticipated, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest weekly report on applications.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) said he will drop a bill called the "Credit Union Residential Lending Parity Act" in Congress this week that would offer some relief to credit unions pushing up against the member business loan cap.

U.S. households took on debt at a faster clip in the fourth quarter than at any time in seven years, but credit quality measures continued to improve, according to economic reports issued Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and other sources.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Space City CU here is giving Craigslist a run for its money with a new, free online auto marketplace for members.

The proposal to let the U.S. Postal Service become a bank is a hard sell, but the idea has legs for political, legal and business reasons. Here are answers to the top questions about the provocative idea.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Banking Committee leaders are expected to unveil their highly anticipated bipartisan bill to overhaul the mortgage finance market soon, as the window for moving legislation this year continues to narrow.

NEW YORK -- Small business loan approvals at credit unions continued to fall during January, while the approval rates at banks of all sizes continues to rise.

MADISON, Wis. -- In a strong sign that the U.S. economy continues to recover, credit union lending outpaced savings in 2013.

The mammoth agricultural bill which passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday could make agricultural lending a riskier business for credit unions.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The "polar vortex" has made this winter miserable for much of the country, but some members at ElecTel Cooperative FCU here may be perfectly happy to have the cold weather last just a bit longer -- six weeks longer, to be exact.

WASHINGTON -- There's an elephant in the room amidst discussions on how to unwind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the two government-sponsored enterprises are now making money hand over fist.

CLEVELAND -- Small credit unions such as the $2 million NoteWorthy FCU in Ohio offer the basics in consumer lending such as car loans and Visa cards.

ELGIN, Ill. -- Credit unions can differentiate themselves from banks, improve their loan yields and save their members from paying the punishing interest rates charged by payday lenders by looking past the top credit tiers.

PHOENIX -- For $1.4 billion Arizona State Credit Union, a poor economy for an extended period of time meant pent-up demand for auto loans -- once it let its members know these loans were available.

While most observers say that nearly any credit union can find success with signature lending -- closed-end, unsecured loans -- some of those that have the most success are CUs that tailor them to a specific niche.