Credit cards saw a record setting reduction in balances during the pandemic, with total outstanding credit card debt dropping over 10% from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020. This trend is counter intuitive to what you may have expected during an economic recession where unemployment hit all-time highs. But this recession…
Dinny LechmanApril 9, 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, it threw our world into upheaval. If asked a year ago, I would not have predicted that real estate values would experience record growth. Will this growth continue, or will it cool off? Here are five reasons values are likely to continue trending…
Dinny LechmanMarch 4, 2021
The NCUA will soon be releasing their Supervisory Priorities for 2021. Based on past priorities, evolving NCUA guidance, and the current economic environment here is what we think will be most important to examiners in 2021. CARES Act In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCUA released an update to…
Dinny LechmanJanuary 8, 2021
Government relief efforts and deferral programs enacted at financial institutions have helped consumers through the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once relief efforts end, delinquency that may have been hidden by those relief efforts will reveal itself and the collections process will begin. In this new reality, the collections…
Dinny LechmanDecember 11, 2020
Credit Unions have access to enormous amounts of data. Examining this data is invaluable in gaining insight about your organization. With competition in the financial services sector growing ever more intense, Credit Unions see the need to adopt a data-driven approach to stay competitive but quickly find that becoming a…
Dinny LechmanNovember 30, 2020
It has been nearly 8 months since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, bringing with it sweeping economic upheaval. With that came relief efforts from the federal government and guidance from regulatory agencies. Credit unions quickly answered the call, helping members who were adversely affected by the pandemic in the…
Dinny LechmanNovember 6, 2020
The credit score is THE key attribute lenders use to determine if they will offer credit to a borrower and if so at what rate. It is also key in analyzing loan portfolio risk as credit scores change from loan origination. It is vital that the credit reports of consumers…
Dinny LechmanOctober 7, 2020
For many credit unions, real estate loans represent the largest percentage of their total loan balance. In these uncertain times, understanding the risk of loss due to default on your existing real estate loan portfolio is important. The impact of a loss to your financial performance has two factors, the…
Dinny LechmanAugust 6, 2020
On June 23rd the NCUA published Interagency Examiner Guidance for Assessing Safety and Soundness Considering the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Institutions. The pandemic has led to substantial strain and stresses on financial institutions and the guidance suggests that examiners should be flexible in their assessments. Here is a…
Dinny LechmanJune 30, 2020
Credit Unions have a desire to help their members in this time of crisis by offering skip-a-pay and forbearance options as an easy way to help bridge members through a temporary crisis. However, is this a temporary or a long-term crisis? Economists are conflicted in their projections of America’s…
Dinny LechmanMay 29, 2020