It seems likely that 2013 will contain two distinct aspects for credit union mortgage programs.

On the one hand, it seems certain that credit unions will continue to take a greater share of the overall mortgage market.

Barring something unexpected, such as a national credit union scandal of some sort, consumers seems likely to continue their ongoing infatuation with credit unions as locally based, financial service providers and this directly helps boost credit union housing finance programs.

More 2013 Watch

In addition, as with credit cards, credit unions have room to both expand and improve their housing finance programs and that can only lead to more credit unions extending more mortgages.

On the other hand, it's also likely that Congress will take up the reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the secondary-mortgage market and it's very unclear what they might do.

Secondary housing finance reform is the one remaining aspect of financial service reform still undone after the 2009 financial crisis, and it's not certain which approach legislators might take. Should the market reform they choose favor credit union access to the reformed secondary market, credit union mortgage expansion could be quite strong.

Credit union mortgages have long commanded a stronger safety and soundness premium when compared to those underwritten by banks and in a truly fair market those mortgages should become a more valuable credit union asset.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 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.