Newsroom

June 11, 2013

Berger: CUs need access to secondary mortgage market

June 12, 2013 – NAFCU reiterated to the House Financial Services Committee the importance of the secondary mortgage market to credit unions as the panel prepares for a hearing today focusing on successful housing finance models without explicit government guarantees.

In a letter ahead of today's hearing, "Beyond the GSEs: Examples of Successful Housing Finance Models without Explicit Government Guarantees," NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Dan Berger pressed anew for a comprehensive approach to reform that will make taxpayers whole while ensuring credit unions have continued access to a healthy and viable secondary mortgage market.

"NAFCU's primary concerns are that credit unions continue to have unfettered access to the secondary mortgage market and that any reform efforts place a heavy emphasis on fair pricing that reflects loan quality," Berger wrote.

Berger reminded the committee: "As has been widely recognized by Congress and various other stakeholders, credit unions did not contribute to the financial crisis and pride themselves on solid underwriting that creates high-quality loans."

As discussions about housing finance reform continue, NAFCU is working closely with key lawmakers, and their staffs, to ensure that credit unions retain access to a secondary mortgage market.