Lending

Citing some of the toughest auto lending competition in years, credit unions in a number of markets have found auto dealers pressing lenders to offer greater flexibility in how they pay the dealership for indirect business.

Pent-up demand for new cars may have come and gone, cautions one analyst who points to dealer data that indicates consumers are slowing down new car purchasing.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates tipped up this week amid an expanding housing market, according to Freddie Mac.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Electel Cooperative FCU’s two-day St. Patrick’s Day “Lucky Loan” promotion, held Friday, March 15 and Monday, March 18, offered personal loans for 12 months at 1.9% or 24 months at 2.9%.

DAYTON, Ohio – Mid USA CU has provided a $2.35-million loan to finance acquisition of a 111-unit apartment building in nearby Trotwood.

Two credit unions on opposite sides of the United States are putting a twist on the usual loan balance transfer promotion with a "coopetition."

Auto leasing has made a comeback, reaching its highest levels since 2008, when the recession began pulling millions of lease customers out of the market.

New car loan rates just keep dropping.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be zeroing in on buy rate financing, a move that could help level the indirect auto lending playing field between banks and credit unions.

As banks and credit unions both increase subprime auto lending, what concerns one analyst most is extending loan terms across all credit categories.

Taking a beating from manufacturer leasing deals, First Financial FCU fought back with a 2% cash-back offer that it expects will help return its auto lending to positive growth this year.

While most people might think of an open house as an event hosted by a Realtor, $106-million HomeTown Credit Union turned the tables a bit and welcomed real estate professionals into two of its branches with open houses of its own.

WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said today it will be monitoring for discriminatory practices in auto lending, especially the practice known as “dealer markup,” which allows lenders and dealers to share in secret interest rate hikes.

PLEASANTON, Calif. – 1st United Services CU has joined with CU Realty Services LLC to use the CUSO’s turnkey, Web-based active lead channel.

WASHINGTON – In an unusual ouster bid, attorneys general in nine states called on President Obama and Senate leaders today to fire Ed DeMarco, the director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, charging the Bush-appointee with being a major impediment to resolving the ongoing foreclosure crisis.

Orion FCU is putting potential buyers into foreclosed homes as part of an innovative rent-to-own initiative.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – Langley FCU yesterday said it signed with Mortgage Cadence LLC to implement the company’s Symphony platform to support the credit union’s rapidly expanding mortgage program.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates climbed this week to their highest levels since last August, as stronger-than-expected employment growth drove up yields for the government securities that guide home loans, according to Freddie Mac.