The story quoted CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel saying that credit unions "will make any loan they possibly can make," as they refinance subprime loans and adjustable rate mortgages for homeowners who are no longer capable of keeping up with payments.

Credit unions were also cited during a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing as playing an important part in rescuing troubled homeowners. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the economy would be "sluggish" but likely pick up speed later in the year. Still, he warned, "the downside risks to growth have increased," noting spiraling losses in home mortgages. Banks have pulled back, Bernanke admitted, in an attempt to "protect their liquidity." He said banks would surely take more write-downs in the coming months from subprime losses.

To Dorsa, that's a flashing green light for credit unions. "The CU option will continue to gain attention, because so many mortgage brokers have disappeared and other lenders have restricted lending guidelines. That's why now is the time for CUs to reach higher. We've been saying that at ACUMA for a long time and our members have been on the frontlines of doing just that since the first inkling of this crisis reared its ugly head."

It's no surprise, then, that other mortgage-related providers strongly agree with him. Mortgage lending is now the focal point at several upcoming CU conferences.

Happening during the CUNA GAC conference, for instance, is CU Members Mortgage 12th Annual Mortgage Lending Conference, from March 2-4 at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas. Janet Walter, CU Members' vice president of public affairs, told CU Times the conference is geared toward "shining a spotlight on ways to increase CU business."

CU Members Mortgage (www.cumembers.com) provides mortgage services for 750 CUs, CU leagues and CUSOs nationwide. Charles Idol, PhD, is a keynote speaker and sessions will cover mortgage insurance, fraud and cross selling beyond the home loan, among other topics.

Also, NAFCU's Strategic Growth & Lending Conference will be held on March 11-14, 2008 at the FireSky Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, featuring an entire day of mortgage-related sessions. All keyed to the 'Two to Ten' effort of lifting the CU market share of mortgage business from the doldrums of 2% to 10%.

Here, Dan Green, executive vice president & chief operating officer of Prime Alliance will weigh in on 'Why Mortgage Lending is the Strategy for Every Credit Union,' and Tracy Ashfield, Prime Alliance executive vice president will advise losing old strategies for ones that will work in today's real estate market.

Carolyn Hultquist, EVP of Credit Union Real Estate Services, will address the long-time ACUMA prerogative of forging alliances with realtors. It's apparent that CUs and realtors should be friends, she will say, but they "never needed credit unions as a reliable sources of ready-financing…until now."

ACUMA has cultivated a relationship with the National Association of Realtors and has exhibited at its national conference for four consecutive years, and this year the NAR announced it would form its own credit union.

Other topics covered at the daylong sessions include handling mortgage defaults and mortgage servicing.

The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions will hold its own Mortgage Lending Workshop on March 18-19, 2008 at the Center for Responsible Lending in Durham, N.C. Responding quickly to emerging trends, the Federation only announced this workshop at the end of January.

NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood will make the keynote address, which will highlight the vital role played by credit unions as affordable and responsible lenders. Special topics for this program include Lending in the Current Housing Market and The "Self-Help Model." In addition, the workshops will feature special classes on foreclosure prevention and homeownership counseling. Other sessions address mortgage underwriting, marketing, compliance, servicing, and the effect of future changes in market conditions, said the Federation (www.cdcu.coop).

"This workshop is designed for credit unions, housing professionals, and other community-based mortgage lenders and is a collaborative program of the Federation's CDCU Mortgage Center, LLC, and the CDCU Institute?,,?, said the Federation's Rafael Morales. Dorsa is also a guest speaker at the conference.

ACUMA's Spring Conference (www.acuma.org) at Nashville's Opryland on April 21-23 is a result of a call to action for as many credit unions as possible to spring into action and gain more valuable goodwill. "This is the fork in the road that Johnny Carson used to joke about," he laughed. "If we don't take it now we'll only have ourselves to blame."

CU Outlook

NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland will speak to ACUMA members and the agenda features forecasts from Economy.com's Zandi and CUNA Chief Economist Hampel, who will drill down to the CU picture. Niche marketing and lead-generating sessions are on tap and best practices from top CU performers will be discussed. Ample networking time is left between sessions to facilitate the sharing of ideas, said Dorsa.

Both NCUA Board members' presence at these meetings signifies the important role the agency feels that CUs play in the overall mortgage marketplace. With the mortgage portion of the CU lending portfolio now more than 50% in home loans, its not just safety and soundness issues that spark interest in credit unions, but their strong capital position that will allow for increased lending. Where banks must pull back, CUs can tread, albeit carefully, as they always have, asserted Dorsa. And as that fact gains more mainstream press attention, CUs must be prepared.

"We shouldn't come into this thing on little cat feet," he said. "This isn't the time to be timid. Credit unions know how to make safe loans. They also know how to deliver fair loans at great rates with low fees. Our chance to stand out by standing up is here now. The question is: will credit unions respond or fall back?" he asked. ACUMA, he said, has been prepared for some time, as evidenced by its credit union real estate network(s) (CURENs), that work both in the trenches and still keep an eye on the big picture in its larger conferences. CURENs are small groups of real estate professionals from many CUs that have formed throughout the country to share information and help each other with difficult questions.

"Because the best answers come from professionals that have likely faced a problem before, they give great advice to others and save time and money in the process," Dorsa said.

The Federation conference will target information on the risks posed by rising foreclosures and identify ways to help borrowers facing that threat of losing their homes.

CUNA's Jan. 31st report titled, The U.S. Mortgage Crisis, Causes, Effects and Outlook Including Suggested Credit Union Responses, written by Hampel and Senior Economists Mike Schenk and Steve Rick, noted that the "deteriorating housing market has had a limited effect on credit union operations." There has been an increase of borrowers seeking help from CUs, in fact. The report projects that due to the overall crisis, CU portfolio credit quality may "decline marginally" in the next few years. CUs may also see mildly rising delinquencies, charge-offs, and less home equity lending.

But if the American Dream of homeownership is to remain a linchpin of building wealth and security for this country, real estate lending is a service more CUs must provide. It's evident from the attention now being paid from all quarters of the CU world that doing so is now in the credit union DNA. Experts agree that should the market share grow (even incrementally) to 10%, then credit unions will command more than an occasional mention in the Wall Street Journal.

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