Lending

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates, following long-term bond yields, rose in the latest week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbing to the highest level since April of last year, according to Freddie Mac.

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Kinecta FCU, which turned a $71 million 2009 loss into a $15 million net for 2010, said yesterday it has opened a Midwest Operations Center in Rosemont, Ill., this month as part of the credit union’s expansion of its wholesale mortgage lending division.

VIENNA, Va. – Navy FCU, the largest credit union player in mortgages, originated $1.8 billion of residential loans in the fourth quarter, a 54% spike from the same period a year ago, and one of its best quarters ever.

SALT LAKE CITY-After two years of testing, Mountain America CU is preparing to launch its Quick Close program for mortgages.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich.-Omni Community Credit Union has doubled its business lending portfolio over the last year and attributes a great deal of the success to working with a CUSO.

ROCKVILLE, Md.-The National Institutes of Health FCU is offering its Weather Shield Express Signature Loan program as a vehicle to help members whose homes have been damaged by winter weather.

RANTOUL, Ill. – Community Plus FCU has received a $450,000 Community Development Financial Institutions loan and plans to use it to make auto and “credit-builder” loans in Champaign, Ford and Piatt counties.

DURHAM, N.C. – Self-Help CU has awarded a $2.8 million loan to Neuse Charter School in nearby Selma, N.C., that will be guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities program.

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates barely budged this week, after rising slightly the previous three weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

NEW YORK – Fynanz, Inc., which markets the cuStudentLoans.org online private student loan marketplace, is now offering consolidation student loans.

WEST JORDAN, Utah – Mountain America CU said it now offers the option for all of its Utah members to close mortgage transactions electronically.

NEWARK, N.J. – Fannie Mae told a federal court yesterday it should dismiss millions of dollars in claims over fraudulent credit union mortgages its bought from defunct U.S. Mortgage Corp. and its CU National unit because it holds legal right to the loans.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – Robins FCU is teaming with Flint Energies to offer a 4.99% interest rate on energy efficiency loans to their joint members.

MADISON, Wis. – Credit union lending declined another 0.2% in December, after a similar drop in November, pushing lending to a negative 1.43% for 2010, the worst in more than 30 years, according to CUNA.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Technology CU has launched a new jumbo 30-year fixed rate home loan program intended to boost the buying power of homebuyers and homeowners up to $3 million.

WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up. Last year’s Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act , or SAFE Act, requires all residential mortgage loan originators to register, obtain a unique identifier from the registry, and maintain their registrations. Lenders have 180 days, until July 29, to register, after which they may be prohibited from lending. The registry announcement was made by NCUA, the FDIC, Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency Office of Thrift Supervision and Farm Credit Administration. WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up.WASHINGTON – Registration opens today for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, with which all credit union and bank mortgage lenders must sign up.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – The National Institutes of Health FCU rolled out a loan program designed to help with weather-related home damages.

WASHINGTON – Long-term mortgage rates moved up slightly again this week, for the second week in a row, as bond yields moved up, according to Freddie Mac.

LIVE OAK, Texas – Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union said with the aid of West Jordan, Utah-based business lending CUSO Member Business Lending, LLC, it recently completed a successful SBA audit.