Lending

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Kinecta FCU said it is one of the first credit unions to offer a low down payment mortgage that will help borrowers buy one of the more than 1 million homes now owned by Fannie Mae through foreclosure.

WASHINGTON – Financial regulators agreed to postpone for two months final rules that would require financial institutions that package loans and sell them on the secondary market to hold some of the risk on their books – that is, retain some “skin in the game.”

MADISON, Wis.-Credit union lending increased during April, the first monthly increase since August of 2010, according to a CUNA analysis released last week.

OKLAHOMA CITY-Following tornadoes that have devastated portions of the Midwest and South, Communication FCU here introduced a loan to help members finance storm shelters.

MADISON, Wis.-Dave Colby, chief economist with CUNA Mutual, has two suggestions for the credit union community when it comes to increasing mortgage lending: Create a new mortgage, and offer refis for people in their 50s with 70% equity in their homes.

WASHINGTON-Consumers' ability to afford a mortgage down payment is still severely impaired, according to a poll by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

SAN FRANCISCO-CMG Mortgage Insurance Co. (CMG MI) will join with the American Credit Union Mortgage Association's (ACUMA) to co-sponsor a series of regional mortgage lending workshops.

MOBILE, Ala.-A prominent Realtor, her son and daughter-in-law pleaded guilty to an expanding mortgage fraud that enabled them to buy expensive vacation homes at Alabama's Gulf Shores using "straw borrowers" to qualify for credit union loans. Other lenders victimized by the scheme were ABN AMRO, First Tennessee Bank, US Bank and First Choice Funding.

NEW YORK-National home prices hit a new lows in the first quarter of 2011, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

MADISON, Wis.-Despite poor loan growth overall, most credit unions have had "two really strong years in a row" on the mortgage front. The challenge now, one analyst is stressing, will be to dig deeper and invest time and resources to make mortgage lending an even bigger source of loans.

"To the extent that the opportunity is there and they have the expertise, credit unions should not shy away from mortgages. They need to resist some of the regulatory pressure to avoid this stuff."

MADISON-Despite some really good economic signs overall, the housing market is going to take a very long time to recover — and may never get back to where it was during the boom.

NEW YORK – A state appellate court yesterday rejected the shield of the federal tax exemption for federally chartered credit unions and upheld a lower court ruling that Hudson Valley FCU and all of the state’s federally chartered credit unions are liable for millions of dollars in New York State mortgage recording taxes.

WASHINGTON – Fixed mortgage rates declined for the seventh consecutive week, to their lowest levels since December, Freddie Mac reported yesterday.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lender Processing Services yesterday launched a new reporting and analytics solution that mortgage servicers can use to measure and analyze key performance indicators to help make more informed decisions about loans in their portfolios.

ATLANTA – Associated CU said yesterday it is offering an auto loan aimed at subprime borrowers that rewards members with reduced interest rates for timely payments.

ARLINGTON, Va.-It used to be that interest rates drove mortgage volume, yet volume is flat despite very attractive rates. So what's driving mortgage loans to credit unions right now? Not much-unless you're asking what's driving volume down.

APPLETON, Wis.-Were he in the state legislature or Congress, Glen Ogden, VP of mortgage lending for Community First CU, said he would hesitate "to write a bill that adds yet another layer to an already overburdened industry, but..."