Skip to main content

CUNA: A bit of good news for the credit union industry.

For credit unions, first mortgages are up, auto loans are down and commercial loans have plummeted since the coronavirus hit the U.S. economy.
CUNA released its updated economic forecast on Thursday with data collected through April and according to CUNA Senior Economist Jordan van Rijn, first mortgages continued to be at least one bit of good news for the credit union industry with a growth of 7.2%.
In a video update, van Rijn said while that is down from the 9.4% growth seen at this time last year, “Credit unions are continuing to find ways to do mortgages particularly in this environment of extremely low-interest rates – a lot of people are asking for mortgages.” He also made a point to say that CUNA has seen a lot of bank customers come over to credit unions to refinance.
HELOCs and second mortgages are down 2.1% and commercial loans are down 8.3%, according to the latest CUNA survey data. “Overall, the monthly credit union estimates show that credit union loan growth is up about 1% this year through the first four months,” van Rijn said.
A recession was officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research on June 8 and van Rijn said this was the fastest that the bureau has ever made a recession declaration in U.S. history. Typically, it takes several months if not more than a year to make that determination.
Besides the fall of commercial lending, credit union auto loans took a hit, according to van Rijn. New auto loans are down 2.1% while used auto loans are up slightly at 0.4%. He also reported that unsecured loans are down 3% so far this year.
As far as economic projections for the rest of 2020 and into 2021, van Rijn said many assumptions in the CUNA forecast models include Congress passing another stimulus bill similar to the CARES Act. It’s unclear if that will happen in the next month or so when the stimulus money runs out.
CUNA’s most recent numbers showed that savings growth is expected to reach 14% this year and 8% in 2021, while loan delinquencies are expected to hit 1.5% and charge-offs to be around 1% by the end of 2020.
Michael Ogden
Executive Editor for CU Times

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What Does PTSD in a Firefighter Look Like? A New Brain Scan Can Show You

Link Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often described as one of the invisible scars that firefighters and others accumulate after years of dealing with trauma in their jobs. Now the scars are invisible no longer. A new tool—the SPECT scan—is offering a new way for firefighters and others with PTSD to visualize their injuries. SPECT stands for single photon emission computed tomography, and it creates 3-D scans of the patient’s brain that look at blood flow and brain activity, KTLA reports. Those scans can then be used to generate a treatment plan tailored to the specific patient based on the visual effects of PTSD. Retired Firefighter-Paramedic Matthew Fiorenza, a PTSD sufferer, told the station that the scans also help make the illness more tangible. “Looking at a picture of my brain, it just took the stigma out of it,” he told KTLA. “It’s like, okay, I’m not crazy.”  

The Pros and Cons of Tariffs

Since there has been so much discussion on Tariffs, I felt a post would benefit our membership. Grant Sheehan CEO NCOFCU Tariffs 1440 Business & Finance Background A tariff—a word derived from the Arabic arafa, meaning “to make known”— is a tax imposed by a government on goods that are imported or exported . Historically, tariffs have served as a primary source of revenue and a means to protect domestic industries, as they make foreign products more expensive, encouraging consumers to purchase locally produced goods. The tools have a checkered history, famously bolstering US textiles, German steel, Japanese cars, South Korean technology, and more, arguably contributing to major economic downturns like the Great Depression. Tariffs can be specific (a fixed fee per unit) or ad valorem (a percentage of the item's value). Purpose Economically, tariffs aim to protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and influence trade policy. By imposing taxes on imported goods —wh...

Advice On Winning Over Gen Z In ’25

NEW YORK—As 2025 approaches the close of Q1, how can credit unions win over Gen Z? By tailoring credit rewards for a digital-first generation, a new report recommends. Gen Z is reshaping the workforce and redefining financial behaviors. As of 2024, this generation is poised to surpass Baby Boomers in workforce size and will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030. This rapid growth presents a major opportunity for financial institutions to tap into a younger, digitally native audience with distinct spending habits and financial needs, emphasized a GlobalData report authored by Zachary Johnson, specialist, campaign execution & strategy, financial services at VDX.tv. “Unlike previous generations, Gen Z’s economic journey has been shaped by inflation and delayed career starts due to the pandemic and skyrocketing living costs. These factors have made them highly dependent on credit, with Gen Zers being 23% more likely to own a credit card than Millennials at the same age, and carrying...

Hauptman Announces Changes to NCUA’s Overdraft/NSF Fee Collection

      Hauptman Announces Changes to NCUA’s Overdraft/NSF Fee Collection WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 3, 2025) – To help ensure credit unions can continue to support the needs of Americans struggling with inflation, the National Credit Union Administration will no longer publish overdraft and non-sufficient fund fee income for individual credit unions, Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman announced today. The NCUA will ...

Share Insurance Fund Report Highlights Asset, Income Growth in Q4 2024

      Share Insurance Fund Report Highlights Asset, Income Growth in Q4 2024 ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Feb. 27, 2025) – The National Credit Union Administration Board held its second open meeting of 2025 and received a briefing by the Chief Financial Officer on the performance of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund for the quarter ending on December 31, 2024. The Share Insurance Fund reported a net income of ...