Not enough credit unions havestarted mortgage lending or preparations to move from refinancingexisting mortgages to making new ones, according to a leadingcredit union housing finance executive.

RobertDorsa, president of the American Credit Union MortgageAssociation, said he remains an optimistic fan of credit unions butis deeply frustrated that too many credit union have started movingcautiously around mortgage lending when, instead, they need tovigorously attack housing finance.

“As for CUs, again we are stuck in kind of an analysis/paralysismode (with) some even planning to use their production achievementsfrom this year to forecast productivity for next year,” Dorsa wrotein an emailed response to a reporter's question.

This even though, Dorsa pointed out, a wealth of projections anddata suggest next year will not provide a housing finance revenue stream nearly aslarge as this year's.

“I predict revenues from mortgage lending will vastly decreasenext year,” Dorsa wrote, adding “and each time credit unions selectthe conservative route over reality we make ourselves vulnerable toan outcome which may very unpleasant.”

He added, “I actually try NOT to think about the consequenceswhen the larger CUs reach that point.”

Instead of retreating from making mortgage loans, Dorsa stronglyadvocated credit unions getting more involved in their localmortgage markets, introducing themselves to real estateprofessionals and taking the steps, including hiring, they need totake to improve their housing finance performance.

“Credit unions which don't start making themselves a resourcefor their member's housing finance needs risk becoming irrelevant,”Dorsa said in his email to Credit Union Times.