Lending

SAN FRANCISCO—Many credit unions are on a "collision course with disaster" because they are not pricing loans correctly.

SHREVEPORT, La.—Credit unions' interest in new lending streams and small businesses' need for operating capital are making micro-loans a growing opportunity for CUs.

MIAMI LAKES, Fla.—Like many Sunshine State businesses, the recession proved challenging for Edda's Cake Company. In 2011, the Miami-based bakery needed a line of credit to expand operations, but local banks weren't interested in what they considered a small-dollar loan.

JACKSON, Mich.—The undead are breathing new life into auto lending at Michigan Community CU.

WASHINGTON-Showing that bipartisanship is not impossible in the critically split Congress, a group of Republican and Democratic House members called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week to maintain-not lower-the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of the potential harm it would cause the mortgage market.

PRINCETON, N.J.-Young adults look at cars today the same way they view their smartphones-quickly evolving technology used for a short period and tossed away for a newer model.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.-A Fresh Start Loan from Central Macomb Community CU is designed to help members rebuild their credit.

A selection of images featuring credit unions' efforts in their communities.

Confusion and panic. Those are the words most often used by lenders when faced with the onslaught of mortgage regulations and other rules going into effect in three months. Regulators have sought to defuse concerns partly by attending industry conferences, but they have also made it clear that several other big changes are on their way. Following is a guide to what's ahead.

WASHINGTON – Fixed mortgage rates moved slightly higher this week but remained near two-month lows, reflecting the federal debt impasse in Washington, D.C. and a light week of economic data releases, according to Freddie Mac.

DURHAM, N.C. – Generations Community CU is teaming with Roanoke Electric Cooperative to offer low-cost loans for energy efficiency projects to electric consumers in underserved rural communities in North Carolina.

WASHINGTON – Showing that bipartisanship is not impossible in the critically split Congress, a group of Republican and Democratic House members called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency this morning to maintain--not lower--the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of the potential harm it would cause the mortgage market.

With the clock ticking down to January implementation of several Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mortgage regulations, one expert attempted to bust eight myths about the rules during a Tuesday webcast during the CUNA Mutual Online Discovery conference.

Mortgages may be a vital growth product for CUs, but are not a sector of the financial services market to be entered into lightly.

In Las Vegas where the housing market has experienced breathtaking highs and lows in the last decade, one issue at the the American Credit Union Mortgage Association's recent annual conference seemed especially relevant.

Despite a predictable drop in refinance activity as interest rates rise, Patelco Credit Union is posting strong mortgage numbers thanks to an increased emphasis on jumbo mortgage products.

At the American Credit Union Mortgage Association annual convention last week, Credit Union Journal asked the following attendees: "Now that interest rates are going up and the refi boom is drying up, what proactive steps is your CU taking to generate more purchase mortgages?"

WASHINGTON – Regulators' plan to unite two separate mortgage standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act is deepening the focus on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ever-expanding role in the mortgage sphere.