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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON –The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) in its February Economic & CU Monitor discovered that more than half of credit unions it surveyedvalue the secondary market, with nearly 60 percent of respondents selling mortgage loans to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or both.

The Monitorsurveys credit unions each month on key industry concerns. Below are key findings from the FebruaryMonitorand survey results, with the full report attached.

Special Topic – Housing Finance

• Credit unions continue to be actively involved in the secondary market through thegovernmentsponsoredenterprises (GSEs), with about 35 percent of respondents selling mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and nearly 12 percent selling mortgages to Freddie Mac. Roughly 12 percent of respondents to NAFCU's survey sell to both.
• Respondents sold, on average, 37.1 percentof their mortgage loans to the GSEs in 2017.
• Credit unions continue to be keenly opposed to a move toward full market privatization, with 73.3 percent of respondentsopposing proposals to eliminate the GSEs in favor of full privatization of housing finance without a government guarantee.
• 74.1 percent of respondentssupported keeping the GSEs or something similar with an explicit government guarantee.

Also included in the Monitorare the results from the February Credit Union Sentiment Index, an index based on NAFCU member responses to eight questions on growth and earnings outlook, lending conditions and regulatory burden.

• The Credit Union Sentiment Index (CUSI) improved in February, reaching its highest point on record. The increase in the overall score was primarily driven by respondents' outlook on growth and regulation.The growth component rebounded after a dip in January, as 96 percent of respondents had a favorable outlook over the next 12 months.
• Respondents' perception of loan demand moderated, but their assessment of applicant quality improved. The earnings component was the only element of the CUSI to decline in February.

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