Dodd Frank's Risk Retention Requirement Silent on Credit Unions

This week six federal agencies are issuing a proposed rule implementing the risk retention requirement of the Dodd Frank Act (section 941), which requires issuers of securitized loans to retain a 5 percent interest in the risk of loss. The proposed rule provides an exemption for qualified residential mortgages.

According to advocates of the risk retention requirement, if a lender has "skin in the game," the loans will be underwritten more conservatively and will perform better; because the lender is retaining some credit risk.

Noticeable in its absence is the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The Dodd Frank Act did not include credit unions under its risk retention requirement; but it should also be noted that credit unions were not specifically excluded.

Section 941 of the Dodd Frank Act is just silent when it comes to credit unions.

This raises a relevant policy question -- should credit unions be subject to this risk retention requirement?

Data from the NCUA shows a substantial expansion in real estate loans sold but serviced by credit unions. According to NCUA, outstanding real estate loans sold but serviced by federally-insured credit unions has almost doubled between 2006 and 2010 to $108.4 billion at the end of 2010.

Moreover, for the last two years more than half of the first mortgage real estate loans granted by credit unions were sold in the secondary market. Credit unions reported that 54.08 percent and 52.24 percent of their first mortgage real estate loans granted in 2009 and 2010 were sold, respectively.

In 2010, 5 credit unions sold over $1 billion in first mortgages in the secondary market. The credit union that sold the most mortgages in the secondary market was Kinecta FCU in Manhattan Beach (CA), followed by Navy Federal in Vienna (VA).

The table below shows the 50 credit unions that sold the most first mortgages in the secondary market during 2010. (click on image to enlarge)