Survey Shows CUs Gaining

Almost 70% of credit union executives surveyed by NAFCU reported an increase in members switching loans from banks during the past 12 months.NAFCU’s “Flash Report” found that 69.6% of the respondents reported such increases, even though only 29.6% of those asked said they provided incentives to shift loans.NAFCU surveyed the loan officers in July and found that they estimated about 13.4% of their loan growth came from these transfers.“This shows that not only are credit unions offering a good deal, and people are moving business to them without additional incentives. That’s a great reflection on credit unions,” said NAFCU Chief Economist Tun Wai.The association sends its survey to 130 credit union executives each month and receives about 80 responses, Wai noted.NAFCU’s survey also found that 69.5% of respondents reported an increase in overall loan applications and 74.1% had an increase in the number of loans they modified.The survey found a significant percentage of credit unions reporting increases in different kinds of loan applications: Used vehicle 72.4%, first mortgages 70%, unsecured loans 63.8% and credit cards 61.1%.Loan growth at the credit unions surveyed was 6.6% higher during the first eight months of 2009 than during the same period in 2008.The increase in real estate loans accounted for 56.2% of all loan growth during the previous 12 months.Respondents said they were expecting weaker demand for new vehicle, unsecured, and real estate loans during the next 12 months and increased demand for used vehicle loans.–[email protected]