Lending

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates headed lower again this week amid weak consumer spending data, according to Freddie Mac.

GESSUP, Ga. – Interstate CU has partnered with Sallie Mae to offer a private student loan program, the Smart Option Student Loan.

BRADENTON, Fla. – Manatee Community FCU has teamed with the Jaensch Immigration Law firm for a program that will allow immigrants to begin preparing for the costs of reform such as penalties and naturalization fees, according to a written statement.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates tumbled for the second week in a row, falling to near all-time lows, according to Freddie Mac.

The $268-million Southwest Airlines FCU is among those attempting to get its arms around new mortgage lending rules from the CFPB.

With eight months to go before new mortgage rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau take effect, credit unions are struggling with how to respond-or even which rules to respond to.

Unlike some credit unions that are still deciphering the new CFPB mortgage rules that take effect in January, $622-million Silver State Schools CU says it already is prepared.

It's a common refrain: credit unions need to build relationships with Realtors to improve their purchase mortgage business. The $186-million TEG FCU here has taken action.

With demand up and supply down, one analyst is declaring the housing crisis over. But the good news comes with a caveat, as one person is warning that credit unions need to capture as many purchase mortgages as possible because the long-running refinance boom is winding down.

With used car values still at record highs and managing risk at the CU a growing concern, Black Book and Fitch Ratings have assembled a report to help lenders closely monitor vehicle depreciation.

Margin compression caused in part by lowering auto loan rates just to stay competitive has left most credit unions with little choice but to "reinvent" the auto loan process to cut costs.

Credit unions are picking up auto lending share from the big banks.

Recent used car depreciation levels indicate that full-size SUV values are holding, while the full-size crossover segement showed the biggest disappointment.

With uncertainty surrounding the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, one CUSO is developing a capital markets alternative credit unions can use.

Credit unions are not doing enough to generate more purchase-mortgage dollars going forward, according to David Bednar.

OKLAHOMA CITY – An automobile dealer was sentenced yesterday to 16 months in prison for bank fraud and ordered to pay Municipal Employees CU $200,800 restitution for a scheme in which he used the same cars on his lot to collateralize loans from the credit union and another lender.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates fell this week, in reaction to news of slower growth in the economy, according to Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this morning announced four civil enforcement actions to end what the Bureau believes to be improper kickbacks paid by private mortgage insurers to mortgage lenders in exchange for business.

WASHINGTON – Fannie Mae, the secondary mortgage market giant run under government conservatorship since September 2008, reported $7.6 billion in profits for the fourth quarter of 2012 and a record $17.2 billion for the year, the latest signal that the mortgage crisis is near an end.