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.
Recommended For You
Four Mass. CUs Partner For Reality Education Fair
Four credit unions have joined together to give Massachusetts middle school students a dose of reality.
Fitchburg Federal Credit Union, GFA Federal Credit Union, IC Federal Credit Union and Workers' Credit Union, all located in central Massachusetts, have partnered up to sponsor a CU 4 Reality Financial Education Fair for Academy Middle School in Fitchburg.
The fair, taking place on June 2, is a day-long event that will provide 100 students with the chance to see how career selection impacts their financial well-being and their life choices. The students will create a spending plan based on a salary within their career choice.
"Financial education has become so important these days," said Barbara Goodwin, president/CEO of Fitchburg Federal Credit Union. "As community financial institutions, we decided to partner up to sponsor this valuable program for our local students."
The fair is part of the CU 4 Reality Program, which is an in-class curriculum implemented during the past school year to teach students skills to handle money responsibly, set and adhere to budgets and make informed decisions on borrowing.
N.Y. CU, MEMBERS Trust In Reverse Mortgage Pact
MEMBERS Trust Co. has signed on the $3 billion Teachers Federal Credit Union to its reverse mortgage program.
The Farmingville, N.Y.-based credit union will offer the Federal Housing Administration's Home Equity Conversion Mortgage and a proprietary reverse mortgage developed by the Tampa, Fla.-based trust company. Teachers FCU's new program will include a mortgage origination module, training, underwriting, documentation, servicing, and program development for the proprietary reverse mortgage.
A feasibility study completed by Teachers FCU indicated that improvements could be made in the presentation and marketing of reverse mortgages to senior consumers, according to Nancy Orlando, senior vice president of credit at the credit union. Although TFCU sees the reverse mortgage product as a potential resource for seniors to supplement their retirement income and enhance their quality of life, financial education about the product is imperative, Orlando said.
Product, Service Incubator Welcomes Two Members
MEMBERS Development Co. LLC, a coalition designed to help create new member products and services, has added the Wisconsin Credit Union League and Mazuma Credit Union's CUSO CU Holding Co. LLC to its partner line up.
Among the MDC's completed initiatives are helping to create MEMBERS Trust Co., the development of a health savings account financial model with ISI, a research company, and the Procura corporate purchase card. The company is also currently working on projects involving online financial planning and relationship pricing models.
The development company's activities are directed by an eleven member board, eight of whom are elected by their credit union, CUSO, corporate and league owners, according to MDC's Web site. MDC currently has more than 60 owners, which represent 12% of total CU membership, and 16% of all CU assets.
Mindak Named CEO of Park City Credit Union
Park City Credit Union has appointed Val Mindak president/CEO.
Mindak steps in at the Merrill, Wis., credit union to replace longtime CEO William C. Johnston, who is retiring after over 23 years of service.
With over 28 years of financial institution experience, Mindak previously served as executive vice president/chief operating officer at Connexus Credit Union. In her previous leadership position at Connexus, she was directly responsible for all aspects of member services, which included consumer and real estate lending combined with oversight of all branch operations. In addition, Mindak was responsible for executing business-development and marketing initiatives to meet the strategic goals of the operation in combination with the oversight of the call center.
A graduate of the Darden School of Business, she also serves as a Wisconsin Credit Union League director and has chaired various subcommittees representing Wisconsin credit unions and their members for the past 15 years.
"I am very excited to be leading such a dynamic, member-focused organization," Mindak said. "Park City Credit Union has always had a strong reputation of providing exceptional service to their members, and I am very excited to continue this tradition combined with introducing new products and services to bring continued value to the membership."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.