Lending

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rates moved lower again this week, with the average for the benchmark 30-year loan slipping closer to the 5% mark, according to Freddie Mac.

BROCKTON, Mass. – HarborOne CU said yesterday it is making $200 million available for its newly launched commercial lending division.

WASHINGTON – The House voted yesterday to eliminate the once-lucrative guaranteed student loan program, instead relying on direct government loans to fund the $150-billion-a-year needs of college students and delivering another major blow to credit unions and banks.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA said loans made under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 program are exempt from the collateral and security requirements in NCUA’s member business loans rule.

GLENDORA, Calif. – America’s Christian CU is partnering with the nation’s largest adoption agency to offer financing for child adoptions, which can cost as much as $40,000.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida Educators FCU is the latest credit union to be approved as a servicer for the Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Golden 1 Credit Union just recently decided to take advantage of the upswing of demand and became a FHA lender in early August. "In May, over 40% of all homes purchased in the Sacramento County area were FHA financed," noted CFO Donna Bland.

CINCINNATI — August wasn't a clunker for auto loan volume, according to credit unions that havea strong ties with car dealers.

BOSTON — Another of the lessons from the mortgage boom and bust? Employees at financial institutions need to be even more vigilant about mortgage fraud.

MADISON, Wis. — Even in housing markets performing well above the national average "[Members] can't just put the house on the market and pay it off, because by the time they pay their Realtor's commission, they've lost a lot of money," explained Tracy Ashfield, EVP with Strategic Mortgage Solutions.

BOSTON, Mass. — Credit unions continue to push regulators for more latitude in making new mortgages and helping members struggling with existing loans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation's housing market continues to break records, but not ones consumers and lenders alike would want to see. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate rose to 9.24% in Q2, up 12 basis points from the then record-setting Q1, and more than 2.8% from last year. Foreclosures continued their march higher as well, up 45 basis points over the previous quarter to 4.3%. The combined delinquency and foreclosure rate of 13.16% is also the highest ever recorded by the MBA.

LAS VEGAS — Credit unions' growing mortgage marketshare is pushing new debate on what they should do with these new assets.

SEATTLE — Promoting CUs' willingness to help young members, getting involved with Realtors, and dangling a tax credit is not enough to drive better marketshare over the long run, stresses one person.

MADISON, Wis. — Even as thousands of Americans are being foreclosed upon, growing mortgage originations could be a sign a recovery looms near.

COSTA MESA, Calif. — As default rates on mortgages remain high, new analysis is revealing additional insights into different drivers of such defaults. A "Market Intelligence Report" from Experian and New York-based Oliver Wyman examines "strategic defaulters," borrowers who default on their mortgages only because the value of their home has declined well below their mortgage balance. In conducting their analysis, Experian and Oliver Wyman reported they developed a way to estimate the number of strategic defaulters and also uncovered several trends that can provide "important direction for the evolution and enhancement of loan modification programs."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Ent FCU has seen its "plain vanilla" portfolio remain rock solid with 30-day delinquencies well under 1%, but agency paper is beginning to show serious cracks.

BOSTON — With home affordability at record highs, one analyst believes now may be the time to target younger people in the mortgage market.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Analysts are predicting a soft rebound in the mortgage market this autumn, with CUs claiming they're poised to capture even more share. But new risks are also being cited at the same time many CEOs are pushing for more latitude from examiners.

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rates slipped slightly this week near record lows reached this spring, according to Freddie Mac.