Lending

MERIDIAN, Miss. -- Hundreds of members braved the cold Thursday morning to take advantage of MUNA FCU’s no-credit-check Santa loans.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates dipped slightly towards record lows this week, according to Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON – Bolstered by exploding losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an influential senator introduced legislation today that would privatize the secondary mortgage market and end government guarantees on mortgages and mortgage backed securities.

NEW ORLEANS – As the surge of new member sign-ups passes, credit unions are now looking to boost loans among those same new members.

NEW ORLEANS – If lending is to make any kind of comeback in the next year, credit unions will need to find a way to deal with the growing compliance burden, and do a better job of keeping the loans they already have.

WASHINGTON – The average rate for the 30-year mortgage fell this week to a 4%, almost matching a record low of a month ago, according to Freddie Mac.

TRENTON, N.J. – Trenton Police FCU has signed a deal with Residential Home Funding Corp. to provide it with mortgage banking services.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – America’s First FCU has signed with CU Student Choice to offer the CUSO’s private student loans to its members.

MADISON, Wis.-Overall lending is down for credit unions as an industry, but some CUs are seeing strong loan growth.

WASHINGTON –Long-term mortgage rates remained near record low territory this week, according to Freddie Mac.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Pawtucket CU said yesterday it has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration to make guaranteed loans up to $5 million.

MADISON, Wis. – A new study probes why some credit unions have excelled at lending during a period when most CUs have seen the loan portfolios shrink.

MADISON, Wis.-CUNA Mutual Group is offering credit unions a turnkey, prescreen program to recapture auto loans that is averaging 8% loan growth for the more 400 CUs on the system.

TAMPA, Fla.-One credit union is getting ahead of what it expects will some day be a wave of electric car loans, offering financing now for the rechargeable vehicles.

ELGIN, Ill.-More credit unions are outsourcing lending activity to reduce human resources costs and allocate some of the loan team to other duties.

ROCKY HILL, Conn.-Nutmeg State FCU here is looking to grow its portfolio and its marketshare rolling out an indirect loan program with local businesses, including those that offer "lifestyle" enhancements.

While credit unions on the positive side of the loan ledger say it's not easy making loans, they also suggest credit unions themselves may be partially responsible for the slide.

ENDICOTT, N.Y.-Making a loan on property that is leasing gas or mineral rights is a "very complicated situation," explained the CEO of Visions FCU here, which has been carefully assessing the matter for a few years.

MEQUON, Wis.-A new study suggests that the lenders most likely to succeed in getting mortgages will offer competitive online rates, optimized websites and integrated point-of-sale (POS).