Tower's 'People Helping People' Leads to Mortgage Lending Success

Credit union members have long benefited from low rates and fees, flexible loan options, conservative spending practices and personalized service. And in these troubled economic times, the founding principle of credit unions - people helping people - has become more important than ever. One area where this particularly holds true is mortgage lending.

While many financial institutions have pulled in the reins on lending, credit unions have continued to help members' dreams of home ownership become a reality. For instance, Tower Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Laurel, has seen a marked increase in mortgage loans. "In the first quarter of 2009, we received over $500 million in mortgage loan applications," said Barry Stricklin, manager of real estate lending.

Despite the ongoing national housing crisis, Stricklin said, Tower's ability to provide mortgage loans has remained strong. "Mortgage loan volume in 2008 increased 42% to $403 million, representing a significant increase over the 17% or $32 million average growth rate of the prior three years."

"In spite of the fact that it looked very profitable, Tower made a conscious decision not to get involved in subprime lending and not to do any form of abbreviated underwriting like no doc loans," Stricklin said. "Because of that, we haven't seen huge changes in our delinquency rates, and we haven't had to significantly change the products we offer.

"Our goal to put members in sustainable loans has never changed," said Stricklin. Tower's lending program guides and supports members through the mortgage process - from pre-approval to settlement.

Making sure credit union members understand the lending process and what mortgage options are available is a significant part of Tower's program, which was recently recognized as "Best Overall Performer" for 2008 by Prime Alliance Solutions Inc., a national credit union mortgage solutions firm based in Tukwila, Wash. The award recognizes Tower's outstanding performance in mortgage lending - most notably the successful integration of people, process, strategy and technology.

"Tower is one of the best examples in our industry of understanding the importance of all parts of the lending process and getting them to work together effectively to put more members in homes more affordably," said Dan Green, Prime Alliance's executive vice president of strategy.

Tower Federal Credit Union is a member-owned, nonprofit financial institution established in 1953. It is the largest federal credit union in Maryland with more than $1.8 billion in assets and more than 117,000 members worldwide. Tower has eight branches in Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties and five branches at Fort Meade.