Press

Illinois Credit Unions take advantage of new lending program

NAPERVILLE, IL (February 21, 2018) — The Illinois Credit Union League and LSC are excited to announce that nearly a dozen Illinois credit unions are currently taking advantage of the CULS Loan Program offered by LSC and the Credit Union Loan Source (CULS). This new partnership enables state-chartered credit unions to invest in loan pools previously unavailable in Illinois due to regulatory restrictions.

The CULS Loan Program was launched in Illinois in January 2017 as a pilot program approved by the IDFPR. The pilot program was offered in conjunction with the Illinois Credit Union League’s legislative efforts to successfully pass an amendment to the Illinois Credit Union Act (H.B 1792). On August 25, 2017, Governor Rauner signed H.B 1792 into law, effectively allowing state-chartered Illinois credit unions the opportunity to invest in pools of loans irrespective of the membership of the loan borrowers.

To date, Illinois credit unions have invested nearly $17.5 million in the program and are seeing an average net yield of 3.45%.

CULS is a CUSO that was organized and chartered in 2004 by four owners: Georgia Credit Union Services, Inc. (Georgia CU League Subsidiary), Delta Community CU, Atlanta Postal CU, and Georgia’s Own CU. The CULS participation model originates only prime and super prime loans and provides credit unions with low risk, quality assets and excellent returns in comparison with alternative investment options. Further, the CULS model allows geographical and manufacturer diversification of portfolio risk and credit risk over thousands of consumers.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our loan participation program to credit unions in Illinois. The response and feedback from credit unions and the IDFPR has been outstanding,” said Kevin Usiatynski, EVP/Chief Strategy Officer at CULS. “We feel like the program is a great fit for Illinois, and are excited to see this partnership grow.”

To learn more about the ways in which your credit union can benefit from the CULS Loan Program, please contact LSC’s John DiTerlizzi at John.DiTerlizzi@LSC.net.

About Illinois Credit Union League (IUCL)

The Illinois Credit Union League is the primary trade association for more than 200 state and federal credit unions in Illinois. It focuses on providing legislative and regulatory advocacy, compliance assistance and information, and a wide range of educational and training services to those credit unions, who in turn serve approximately 3.4 million members. More information can be found at www.icul.com.