The Federal Reserve Board on May 8 approved revisions to its Regulation Z mortgage disclosure requirements that implement provisions of the July 2008 Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act. The revisions go into effect for dwelling-secured mortgage loan applications received on or after July 30, 2009. Under the MDIA, lenders are required to provide good-faith estimates of mortgage loan costs, called early disclosures, within three business days after receiving a mortgage loan application and before any fees are collected from the consumer, other than a reasonable credit check fee. The rules also enact MDIA rules that impose a seven business day waiting period between the early disclosure and closing date. Additionally, lenders must provide new disclosures, including a revised annual percentage rate if the existing interest rate significantly changes between the time the early disclosure is provided and the closing date. CUNA will examine the final rule to determine whether concerns the trade group addressed in its comment letter have been addressed, said Assistant General Counsel Jeffrey Bloch. CUNA had suggested the timing restrictions be relaxed if the changed APR resulted in an interest rate reduction and that the Fed replace the two definitions of "business day" that were in the proposed rule with a single definition.

Power Financial CU Offers Student Loans To help undergraduate students combat the increasing amount of debt they incur to pay for their education, Power Financial Credit Union is offering a new student loan product. "Many families have seen the funds they set aside for college greatly diminish due to the current economy, and now they are hard-pressed to come up with tuition for their children," said Allan Prindle, president/CEO of Power Financial. "With our student loan, we can help students and their families fill in the gaps that Federal aid and grants may not provide." The student loan offers a maximum educational credit of $20,000, a 60-month term with interest-only payment, a 10-year repayment period and a variable rate as low as prime plus three percentage points, which is adjusted annually. Power Financial allows advances during the draw period of four years payable to an accredited educational entity or a member with proof of a purchase voucher. "With the high interest rates on student credit cards, many will be overpaying college tuition and other expenses if they continue to rely on this method of payment," said Prindle. "We need to make sure that the community is are of our new student loan so that upon graduation, they are not knee-deep in debt."

L.A. CUs Talk Mergers Two pairs of southern California credit unions are on the merger path this month. The $430 million Southland CU said it has filed with state and federal regulatory agencies to merge with $49 million Cityside FCU of Los Angeles, which lost $1.4 million in 2008, much of it in investments. Additionally, the $707 million Financial Partners CU completed a merger last month with the $16 million Pacific Coast CU of Costa Mesa. In a twist, among Pacific Coast's 1,600 members are employees of PIMCO, the investment management firm the NCUA used regarding the corporate crisis. A spokeswoman for Financial Partners said the merger "allows members of Pacific Coast greater access to offices and permits the credit union to grow." Financial Partners' chief sponsor has been Rockwell Corp., an aerospace firm. On Southland's merger of Cityside, a spokesman noted that both CUs share a common membership and branch operation, "which makes this a good fit." Cityside reported a $547,000 loss in the first quarter.