Discover the credit union trends that are driving success in today’s credit unions. Join host Mark Ritter on Credit Union Conversations as he and Keith Koval explore credit union loan volume growth and business lending participation loans, shaping the industry. This episode explores the evolving landscape of credit unions, highlighting trends that are transforming member services and community impact. Learn how credit unions are thriving in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. Discover strategies to navigate delinquency rates and leverage business deposits to overcome a liquidity crunch. Stay ahead with insights on credit union advertising and community service, driving growth and success.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

✅ How loan volume is rebounding with new and repeat borrowers.

✅ The impact of credit union advertising on market visibility.

✅ Why business lending remains a steady growth driver.

✅ The rise of participation loans and improved liquidity.

✅ How community service strengthens credit union appeal.

Subscribe to Credit Union Conversations for the latest credit union trends and insights on loan volume and business lending! Connect with MBFS to boost your credit union’s growth today.

TIMESTAMPS:  

00:00 Keith discusses the credit union advertising surge in Western Pennsylvania, boosting the loan volume uptick

05:09 Participation loans up 102%, business loans are up 11% overcoming the recent liquidity crunch, reflecting a positive credit union trend

10:14 Keith notes minor delinquency rates, not major foreclosures, aligning with credit union trends and business deposits up 8%

12:17 Keith emphasizes a lower fee structure at credit unions compared to banks, a key advantage for attracting business deposits

13:25 Mark discusses the rise of security fraud and phishing attacks targeting credit unions, urging vigilance within the credit union industry

KEY TAKEAWAYS:  

💵 Loan volume surges with repeat and new borrowers, driving credit union trends in Western Pennsylvania

💵 Credit union advertising on radio, TV, and billboards boosts visibility and business lending growth

💵 Participation loans up 102% signal recovery from the liquidity crunch, enhancing credit union stability

💵 Business deposits rise 8%, with a lower fee structure attracting members and supporting community service

ABOUT THE GUEST:

MBFS is a credit union owned organization that supports the business and investment loan programs for 106 credit unions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Currently, we service over $2.5 billion in commercial loan balances. 

As the Relationship Manager for the InvestorMatch Program, I specialize in mortgages for 1-4 family residential investment properties, multi-family residential properties (5+ units), mixed-use and commercial properties.

If you are a real estate agent, mortgage banker or loan broker, please contact me to discuss how you can become part of our referral program.

If you are a real estate investor, please contact me to discuss your lending needs.

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

Mark Ritter - Website

Mark Ritter - LinkedIn

Keith Koval - LinkedIn

SEO KEYWORDS: 

Credit Union Conversations, Mark Ritter, MBFS, Credit Unions, QSO, Credit Union Trends, Credit Union Advertising, Business Lending, Participation Loans, Delinquency Rates, Business Deposits, Community Service, Member Services, Credit Union Loan Volume Growth, Business Lending Participation Loans

Ep. 97 - MBFS Quick Hits feat. Keith Koval-Industry Updates - Transcript

[00:00:20] Keith Koval: Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

[00:00:34] So if you'd ever like to talk to MBFS about participating in one of Keith's loan, or how we can help drive more loan volume to you. Let, let me know, connect with us and we will certainly help that, have that conversation with you. So Keith, it's been a pretty good year so far, huh?

[00:00:56] Loan volume is picking up again. Uh, [00:01:00] we're getting a lot of loans back from repeat borrowers and we're getting a lot of new loans from people we've never done business with. So everything's looking bright for the, uh, rest of the year.

[00:01:20] Keith Koval: One of the things that I've noticed is that the credit unions here in Western Pennsylvania have really stepped up their advertising. Previously, you never really saw. Radio advertisements, television commercials, billboards, sponsorships with our credit unions. And now they've all stepped up and they're all doing that.

[00:02:03] And I think the word on what credit unions are and what they have to offer is really getting out there. And I think that's one of the reasons we're seeing a lot more business.

[00:02:24] And some of that is the low hanging fruit of their existing memberships. But there's 95% of the world that are not their memberships, not, that doesn't belong to a credit union. And we just have to tell people a little bit about it. 'cause I think we have a pretty good story.

[00:02:50] And I started off by asking the question, how many people in the audience. Are members of credit unions and I would say roughly 75% raised our hand and there was [00:03:00] roughly 200 people in, uh, attendance. So that, that surprised me. That's a good thing to see.

[00:03:18] Is, you know, we kind of behind the scenes here at MBFS, we really budgeted. We thought it would be an okay year, but really kind of a flat year. But now we are, uh, raring to go with, with, with new unions. We're going with new people. We're in a hiring spree. And that really goes back to our industry numbers, where the num last year we had a little bit of a pullback in the number of loans we were funding, but our, the number of loans being funded by credit unions just, and all of this is just for business lending.

[00:04:18] Keith Koval: Exactly. And I think it's a good mix of large loans, medium-sized loans and the smaller loans. Uh, another thing that I'm seeing are, we're starting to get loans from areas that we really didn't. I work with in the past. There's the I 79 corridor that runs from Pittsburgh up to Erie. We're starting to get more loans along that, uh, that highway, you know, in, in the, the midway point between Pittsburgh and Erie.

[00:04:59] Mark Ritter - host: [00:05:00] Yeah, and, and probably and the, the number one highlight of the year, even above the dollars being funded, our participation loads.

[00:05:52] So I'm really happy to see. The liquidity kind of returning to normal in the marketplace.

[00:06:08] Mark Ritter - host: It, it, it's amazing to me too, you know, I've been in the credit union business lending space for 25 years now, and the consistency in the portfolio growth, you could set your watch to it.

[00:06:51] Where the business lending is just a consistent model, and it's not as interest rate sensitive as the other [00:07:00] areas that you have. You know, mortgages are very sensitive. Mortgages are very sensitive, and car loans tend to be up and down with the interest rates, but the business lending side, there's always those renewals coming along and it's just, it works for people.

[00:07:19] Keith Koval: You used a key phrase in one of your sentences and that was serving the community. And I get a lot of calls from people that want to come and get a loan from a credit union because we are local. The employees are local. It's not like. We're a hundred miles away and you try to get somebody on the phone and they don't answer.

[00:08:05] Mark Ritter - host: Now on the not so pleasant side, I remember going back and I look back to make sure I didn't have a bad memory back in 2022, even 2021, I used to, one of the talks that I gave, I would talk about delinquency and people chuckle at me because delinquency was virtually zero. And everybody's people had no collections department.

[00:09:08] I think as an industry it's gone back to normal, and right now we're just right at about 1% delinquency being just a hair over 1% as an industry. But in previous rounds of delinquency in the credit union space, we only ever had a pocket and a handful of credit unions with large delinquency issues. Now we're seeing it very spread out among credit unions where everybody has a little bit, as opposed to a few people dealing with large delinquency issues.

[00:10:14] Keith Koval: I think what we're seeing is minor delinquency. Where someone might be running 30 days behind, they just need a little bit of help to get caught back up. I don't think we're seeing a lot of the major delinquencies and foreclosures and, and things like that. So, um, you know, we are starting to see people that might be one month behind, but they're continuing to pay.

[00:10:53] Mark Ritter - host: So another area, but getting back to some positive news is we track business [00:11:00] deposit accounts and over the past year, business deposit accounts are up over 8%. So we are finally seeing credit unions. Not just make loans, but make ha make relationships and bringing deposits into the credit union. And I think our liquidity crunch of 2 20 23 finally woke some people up to say, I need to make this a point of emphasis because my deposits aren't always going to be there in the low cost form.

[00:11:57] Instead of just blowing it off [00:12:00] and saying, I don't need deposits now. They're always gonna be there. What do you think Keith?

[00:12:17] One of the things that I like about the job that I have now is that we get to look at people's different financial statements and tax returns, and I'm surprised at the fees that people are being charged by a regular bank and the fact that they're willing to pay them. And I think that's one area we need to focus on and give more attention to is that the fee structure with credit unions is a lot lower, and you can save a lot more money by bringing your deposit relationship over to a credit union.

[00:13:25] Now people are attacking companies and it's so easy to do. They're attacking MBFS and, and I never thought when I took over this company, people would pretend to be me. You know how many people pretend to be me when they send employees emails and I'm just like, what the heck are they doing? We're a tiny cusa with 50 people and you're pretending to be me.

[00:14:25] Keith Koval: good.

[00:14:46] Mark Ritter - host: There is nothing that makes me more nervous as a company than data fraud security just for the fact that it's gotten so, so much better. [00:15:00] So yeah, we just have to be vi be di very vigilant and, and keep it going. So, because it is crazy on how much people are attacking credit unions and now QSOs. Trying to get in so well, Keith, thank you for joining me.

[00:15:40] Thank you. Have a great day.