ALEXANDRIA, Va - Credit unions continued making a growing number of first mortgages in 2001, writing 16.7% more of the real estate loans than in 2000, up from $76.3 to $89.1 billion, according to NCUA. The 16.7% growth rate for the loans doubled last year's 7.8% growth rate as well....

ALEXANDRIA Va, - Neither NCUA nor former Board member Yolanda Wheat have chosen to speak for the record over allegations that Mrs. Wheat was never formally named to be chair of the NCUA Board. During the waning days of the Clinton Administration the White House asked then Chairman Norman D'Amours...

ALEXANDRIA - NCUA general counsel staff will read, summarize and tabulate credit union comments on the agency's interim final rule repealing CAP even though it appears the question has reached a foregone conclusion. "It's not a fast process, but we expect it to go forward," said Clifford Northup, Director of...

WASHINGTON - The Credit Union Legislative Action Council's (CULAC) efforts should benefit if the current federal campaign finance reform effort makes it into law, said Dan Mica, president/CEO of CUNA. Campaign finance reform should help level the playing field when it comes to political fundraising by closing down the loopholes...

WASHINGTON - For the majority of Americans the anthrax scares of late 2000 have become just that, scares. Many people around the country have returned to opening their mail with greater confidence and no longer nervously await their mail carrier. Other, pressing concerns, crowd the headlines. But for Patricia Yates,...

WASHINGTON - Keith Leggett, senior economist for the American Bankers Association and long-time credit union critic, predicted on the eve of CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference that the ongoing Enron scandal would significantly change the landscape for all financial institutions, including credit unions. "Enron's impact is going to be echoing and...

WASHINGTON - CUNA's Project Differentiation, the effort encouraging credit unions to document the ways they serve their members, is either a practical way for credit unions to measure and understand their services or a "well intentioned" but insufficient approach to forestalling any CAP like requirements. Or both. It depends on...

WASHINGTON - NAFCU has begun to lobby Congress to lower the equity ratio range in which NCUA must set the normal operating level for the NCUSIF each year. Currently the NCUSIF must maintain, under federal statute, an equity ratio of between 1.2 and 1.5%. This has been defined in the...