PINE BROOK, N.J. — Michael McGrath, president of CU National Mortgage and its parent company, US Mortgage Corp, has been appointed to the Fannie Mae Customer Advisory Board, giving CUs their first presence on the influential board. CU National Mortgage is a mortgage product and service provider to credit unions nationwide that serve over 100 credit union clients. The company (http://www.cunational.com) closed over $1 billion in loans last year, said McGrath.

McGrath said his primary focus was to bring to the board a perspective from the credit union side, particularly that of small to mid-sized credit unions and the obstacles they may face in offering mortgage programs to their members. But McGrath said he was optimistic, given that Fannie Mae is supportive of the CU niche and looking for ways to expand and/or enhance mortgage programs at credit unions.

"I attended my first meeting in March and came away very impressed," McGrath said. "The board meets semi-annually for two days, so discussions are very intensely focused. It's a high-level group of people that can be very influential; the top executives at Fannie Mae and economists that are looking for a contribution from industry people to pinpoint current trends in the marketplace. The recent debacle in subprime lending is an example and was talked about. I know there are banks represented, but this is a chance for me to bring my knowledge and experience of working with credit unions to the board. And credit unions, from the smallest faith-based CU to the very largest CU making mortgages are important to the overall picture. I can help bring them to the 'inner circle' so to speak, and if it can help guide future policy at Fannie Mae, then great."