HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -CU Members Mortgage has begun testing a pilot program that offers mortgages to undocumented workers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The new product is called the ITIN loan, named after the IRS identification number that allows undocumented workers to pay taxes. CU Members is offering both a...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California's controversial elder abuse bill passed the state's legislature on August 15, the first day the body reconvened from summer recess. The bill now awaits Governor Schwarzenegger's signature. SB 1018 requires financial institution employees to act as mandated reporters, with the responsibility of recognizing suspected elder and...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - During the refi boom, credit unions barely had to do any creative marketing to attract members' mortgage dollars. In fact, some CUs had all they could do to keep up with applications. But that's over now, and credit unions have to put their creative mortgage hats...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Want to find the weak links in an institution's fraud prevention safety net? Ask a convicted mortgage fraud felon. Kevin Barnes was once an insider in the industry, working as a loan officer, branch manager and loan broker for 20 years. He became involved in an...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Credit unions with an abundance of loans have two primary portfolio management strategies: securitization through secondary mortgage companies like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or whole loan sales on the open market. Deciding which strategy is best - or whether a combination of both is more...

EVERETT, Wash. - With median home prices in the Seattle area above $300,000, you'd wonder why a credit union with $5.4 billion in assets would bother making mortgages to people who have lived in a trailer park. But last October, when no other financial institution was willing to do it,...

DECATUR, Ill. - For a $91 million institution, Staley Credit Union pulled out all the stops to celebrate its 75th Anniversary, hosting a weeklong celebration of special events. Throughout the week, members bid in a silent auction on a variety of high-dollar items donated by credit union vendors. Auction items...

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - Goodbye, Energy First. Hello, E1 Financial. Effective August 1, the $407 million Energy First will undergo an identity change many peers can identify with: it will drop its name association with its original gas company sponsor in an effort to appeal to a wider audience. Energy...