Recently the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) encouraged U.S. Department of the Treasury General Counsel George Madison to "undertake an expeditious investigation into a troubling matter that involves the fraudulent conveyances of residential mortgage loans to the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)."

 

The letter, which was also sent to Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Debbie Matz, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr, and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Ed DeMarco, said that FNMA "has not handled" this potential fraud situation "in a manner that is appropriate for the federal government," adding that the FHFA has not required FNMA to take any action.

 

CU National Mortgage, a third party mortgage processing specialist that purchased many loans originated by credit unions, "defrauded at least 26 credit unions" over a number of years "by conveying the loans to FNMA without the authorization of the credit union and retaining the proceeds." CU National, which filed for bankruptcy in February and whose former CEO is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of embezzlement, was a FNMA seller/servicer.

 

While FNMA continues to hold these proceeds, CUNA said that "FNMA has not offered, nor has the FHFA required them to offer, a settlement" to defrauded credit unions that may be currently facing "severe prompt corrective action sanctions (PCA) from NCUA as a result of the losses."

 

The lack of a financial resolution may also create issues for the NCUA, as the agency may be required to draw funds from its National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) "if the affected credit unions are subject to harsh PCA sanctions as a result of their FNMA losses, NCUA may need to draw upon the NCUSIF to deal with the losses," CUNA added.

 

The Federal Reserve Board published its annual notice and final rule of the asset-size exemption threshold for depository institutions under Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The asset-size exemption for depository institutions will remain at $39 million, which was the level set for 2009. The threshold is based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPIW) for the twelve-month period that ended in November.

 

The CPIW for that period decreased by 0.98%, but this change was too small to warrant any reduction in the exemption threshold, the Fed said in a Federal Register document.

 

An institution's exemption from collecting data in 2010 does not affect its responsibility to report the data it was required to collect in 2009, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reminds credit unions.

 

HMDA and the Fed's Regulation C require most depository institutions and certain for-profit, nondepository institutions to collect, report and disclose data about applications for, and originations and purchases of, home mortgage loans, home improvement loans and refinancings. Data reported include the type, purpose, and amount of the loan; the race, ethnicity, sex and income of the loan applicant; and the location of the property.

 

The purposes of HMDA include helping to determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities and assisting in fair lending enforcement.

 

 “Youth Marketing: Strategies and Tactics for Attracting and Retaining Young Members” is the latest white paper from the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council (CMBDC).

 

It is no secret that the average age of credit union membership is steadily declining. As the US population turns grey, they’re not being replaced by younger members. Perhaps it is because the benefits of membership are not sufficiently attractive to the younger population. Or perhaps, credit unions are not offering services that the younger generation wants.

 

This white paper discusses youth marketing/communications planning and strategies, tools and tactics, communications with young people, and ways of measuring success. It includes 10 case studies featuring credit unions that are successfully attracting and retaining young people through effective marketing and communications programs.

 

CUNA Council members are entitled to complimentary copies of these and more than 200 white papers; non-members may purchase the white papers for a price of $50 per copy. The paper is available online in the white paper section of www.cunacouncils.org – select the “Marketing & BizDev” tab