Goal for 2013: Increase Credit Union Mortgage Volumes

By Mike Corn

Good news arrived in a recent article in the Credit Union Timesin which statistics from Callahan & Associates show that the credit union industry achieved its strongest loan performance ever in 2012. For the first three quarters of the year, credit unions in almost every state realized an increase in lending for an industry-wide loan growth of 4.2 percent. Loan originations exceeded $88 million by the end of September 2012, which meant a growth of 31% over 2011.

Impressive as this is there is still plenty of room for credit unions to grow their slice of the purchase mortgage market. In the article, ACUMA’s Bob Dorsa makes the point that Wells Fargo has nearly 40% of the market share and would be willing to provide home loans to your members if given the chance.

But increasing credit union mortgage loans poses two big challenges:

• Attracting members to their credit union instead of another lender
• Seeing the loan through, from application-to-closing

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