Mortgage Resources

League, CU Form Mortgage Company

CU West Mortgage, a mortgage lending company formed as a partnership between the California Credit Union League and Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif., announced it has received final approval to begin taking credit union loan applications, and that its loan processing system now is functional.

The final approvals came with the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., company's receipt of its lending license from California and approval from Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C.

"We're excited to be up and ready to do business--now all we need is our first credit union loan application," said Mark Hiatt, CEO of CU West Mortgage.

Frank Michael, California Credit Union League chairman and CEO of Allied Credit Union, Stockton, Calif., signed the first contract with the new company Nov. 17, coinciding with the opening of the league's 2003 Annual Meeting and Convention.

"Now that Allied Credit Union is the first to sign a contract, the race is on to see who will be the first to send us a loan and who will be first to close one," Hiatt said.

CU West Mortgage is a full-service retail mortgage company for credit unions in California and Nevada. It features a Web-based origination system that allows credit union members to apply for loans online or with the help of a CU West Mortgage or credit union employee. After the initiation process, CU West Mortgage processes and underwrites the loan.

Members can check the status of their loans online, Hiatt says. "Members even can receive e-mail notices informing them where they are in the process," Hiatt said. "That ability to check the status of a loan online is a benefit we believe very few companies offer." Additionally, credit unions will have the ability to buy their members' loans to improve their loan-to-share ratios.

For information, contact Jayne Tsavalas at 800-345-1907 or visit www.cuwestmortgage.com.

Texas CUs Get HELOC Helper

Liberty Marketing Services, Mounds View, Minn., introduced an initiative to help Texas-based credit unions quickly capitalize on a change in state law allowing them to offer home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

To help credit unions capitalize on the state's lifting of its HELOC ban, Liberty developed a Market Assessment and Action Kit. It allows credit unions to pinpoint the HELOC market potential in their region, communicate with members via direct mail, educate members about the product, and target prospects based on credit and tax-record data.

The Market Assessment and Action Kit includes:

• Member approval list. Appends a credit union's member data with full-tax home value, date of deed, property identification number, household income, Beacon score, and other critical data points to produce a list of only those members that have sufficient home equity and ability to repay the loan.
• Site analysis. Details demographics, household composition, and lifestyle characteristics of members and potential members within the market area the credit union defines.
• Direct-mail campaign. A three-stage campaign designed to educate members and move them to action.
• Point-of-sale elements. Statement inserts and promotional posters for branch offices.
• Opportunity management report. Details lending opportunities on a preapproved basis for HELOC and 12 other loan programs.
• HELOC educational materials. A training module for staff, members and management.
• Home value data pack. A special database file, similar to the member approval list, but customized for telemarketing and cross-selling initiatives.

For information, call 800-607-2435, ext. 5443, or visit www.libertysite.com.