Credit Union Originations Miss the Mark
September was not the month credit unions hoped for. Courtesy of CUNA News Now:
“Consumer credit demand remains weak in the face of serious adverse economic headwinds,” Steve Rick, CUNA senior economist, told News Now. “Job insecurity, stagnant wages, falling employment and high debt levels will weigh on loan growth into the first half of 2010.
“Credit union fixed-rate, first-mortgage loan balances rose 1.1% in September, buoyed by low mortgage interest rates and the first-time homebuyer tax credit,” he added. “For the first nine months of the year, loan balances rose only 1.9%, down from 5.7% for the similar time period last year.”
Following were unsecured personal loans (0.6%), other mortgages (0.5%), used-auto loans (0.3%), and credit card loans (0.2%). Home equity loans decreased 0.2%, and adjustable-rate mortgages and new-auto loans declined 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
Of course, this is a far cry from recent consumer lending at banks, which has retreated mightily, according to the Federal Reserve. In the never-ending battle between banks and credit unions, we’ll see what the bank numbers for consumer lending show for September. The Fed should release those numbers next week.
