Lending

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU said it is continuing to waive late fees on first mortgage loans up to 45 days late to help members whose lives have been disrupted by significant events such as the loss of a job.

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, deferring to avid opposition by the banking lobby, last week agreed not to attach an increase in the member business loan limit for credit unions to a small business jobs package, known as the JOBS Act, which has strong bipartisan support and is predicted to pass.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates rose from near record lows this week after promising U.S. jobs reports, according to Freddie Mac.

PHILADELPHIA – Three East Coast credit unions have launched a new CUSO called UnityXchange that is creating a trading platform where credit unions and banks can solicit and buy into loan participations based on member business loans.

DALLAS – CU Members Mortgage has issued a CU Home Promise that guarantees a member’s home loan will close within 40 days of receiving documentation, otherwise it will pay the borrower $500 toward closing costs.

NEW YORK – Fynanz and its cuStudentLoans program said it has signed with Overture Technologies to promote a private student loan consolidation and refinancing product for college graduates with private student loan debt.

MIAMI – In one of the most ambitious suits of its kind so far, Space Coast CU has filed suit against several of the biggest investment banks and the Wall Street rating agencies for the sale of $150 million of risky investments known as collateralized debt obligations—CDOs—to Eastern Financial Florida CU, the huge Florida credit union that failed in 2009 then was acquired by Space Coast. It was the biggest credit union failure ever, outside of the corporates.

ROCKFORD, Ill. – MembersAlliance CU is partnering with Energy Impact Illinois to launch a pilot low-rate Home Performance Residential Retrofit Rebate program.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates dipped even lower from record depths this week, as the spring home-buying season beckons.

SALT LAKE CITY – The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved America First CU, Cyprus FCU, Goldenwest CU, Mountain America CU, USU Charter FCU and Utah First FCU as Export Express lenders.

QUEENS, N.Y. – Qside FCU has expanded its mortgage loan program to include Federal Housing Administration mortgage loans and refinances.

DENVER – Public Service CU is one of seven local lenders approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration to participate in the SBA Export Express loan guaranty program.

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Matadors Community CU is partnering with Energy Upgrade California, a coalition of power companies, to offer Los Angeles County homeowners energy upgrade loans as low as 2%.

ALBANY, N.Y. – In a tax dispute that could be far-reaching, the U.S. Department of Justice told the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest appellate court, it believes that federally chartered credit unions should be exempt from the state’s Mortgage Recording Tax because of the provisions of the Federal CU Act which exempt federal credit unions from almost all state taxes.

Just as consumers have become accustomed to trading out their cell phones frequently, more car buyers will turn to leasing to keep the newer model in the driveway.

Credit unions may want to hold off on special promotions for loans on hybrid vehicles until the cars' prices come down.

If credit unions are to go toe-to-toe with competitors on low auto loan rates, they will have to make changes to address the overall car loan yield.

The only thing predictable about the auto lending market this year is that competition will be as big or bigger than in recent years.

Look for heavy manufacturer incentives sometime this year, possibly right after tax rebate season, according to one analyst.