Press

Credit union groups call out CNN’s misleading report on credit union mortgage lending data

WASHINGTON, DC (December 19, 2023) — Today, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), and the African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC), released the below statement on CNN’s misleading report on credit unions’ lending practices to minority and underserved communities.

“Credit unions recognize that owning a home is at the heart of many families’ financial dreams. As an industry, we have intentionally worked to address the challenges and inequities that working Americans, including minority and underserved communities, have in achieving this goal,” said CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, and AACUC President and CEO Renée Sattiewhite.

“Fair lending practices are foundational to the credit union mission; however, we acknowledge there is more work to be done to reduce disparities within our industry. It’s unfortunate that a recent CNN analysis misconstrued credit union mortgage lending data to paint an inaccurate picture and draw false conclusions about Navy Federal Credit Union, and the entire credit union industry. The CNN numbers failed to calculate a large number of factors, leading to a flawed headline and disingenuous narrative that misrepresents credit union mortgage lending,” concluded the leaders.

Some key data points that need a correction for the record include:

Credit unions outperform on key mortgage portfolio share indicators: Black borrowers make up 6.5% of credit unions’ mortgage originations compared to 5.5% of banks’, and low-income borrowers make up 8.3% of credit unions’ originations compared to 6.1% of banks’.
A broader analysis of mortgage lending data shows that borrowers saved as much as $70,000 over the life of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage in 2022 when financing with a member-owned credit union rather than Wall Street banks and mortgage companies. The savings are largest for those with significant credit score challenges.
Specifically to Navy Federal Credit Union, 18.4% of NFCU conventional originations came from Black applicants compared to 8.4% for the top 50 lenders.

About NAFCU

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.