Comments on: How Latest Economic Events Affect LAFCU

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:04:11 +0000

I just want to reiterate what so many other members have posted here…..I have been so relieved in recent weeks to know that our money (no matter how little we have lol) is at least protected by your banking practices. Thanks to you and your entire staff for doing such a great job for all the members!

By: Mike Mastro

Mike Mastro — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:55:48 +0000

Thank you again for your kind words. I'd also like to encourage members to attend a free session for a U.S. Economic Review seminar. Well known economic forecaster and market observer Dwight Johnson will be speaking. It is offered by the Credit Union free to members. You can get more information here.

By: Lois Osburn

Lois Osburn — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:50:11 +0000

Today is the first time I read this section of this site. I am NOT a financial person. My deceased firefighter husband took care of our finances. I read your article re: the current financial problem, and all of the questions/replies. Thank you for the clear and understandable statement of facts. I believe that I can rest easy re: my accounts. Thank you.

By: Mike Mastro

Mike Mastro — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:59:14 +0000

Thanks for your positive message. These are truly trying days for all. Our commitment to our members is to continue to operate in the “high integrity, high trust” manner that our members expect and deserve. After all, the underpinnings and resulting culture of this credit union comes from professional firefighter’s who live the highest level of trust and integrity in their daily lives through their willingness to give their lives to save others. How could the Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union not operate on those same principles in support of our members. Long after members compare rates, products, and services with other financial providers we hope our members see the real difference in who we are and who we serve.

By: Michael Ruston

Michael Ruston — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:12:21 +0000

I just wanted to give a quick thank you to LAFCU for your integrity and honesty.
Today in the media average guys can’t believe anything we see. I always read your articles and place my trust in what I read. While other institutions and big dollar C.E.Os look out for their own pockets LAFCU continues to keep it’s high level of professionalism and trust. Thanks.

By: Mike Mastro

Mike Mastro — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:37:51 +0000

Our home equity loans are based on agreed upon Loan to Value amounts which are included in your loan note. We are required by our regulators to monitor for excessive loan to value variances on home equity lines of credit. While we do not randomly reduce credit lines based on specific percentages, we do review loans and home values and communicate with our members regarding lines of credit with loan to values that are far outside of the original loan note. We look at each loan individually and make a decision based on the best interest of the member and credit union. We understand that our membership is unique and we experience a low delinquency ratio on our loans which has not caused us to overreact to the current environment.

By: Monica Adams

Monica Adams — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:10:07 +0000

I have been a member of the credit union for nearly ten years and I love it. I have always been in good standing. I have paid off a luxury car loan within 1 year of financing. I have a 30 year fixed home loan at 5%. Yes, LAFCU has been so good to me. I have recently heard in the news that some banks are “taking back or slicing” the home equity line of credit. I have a HELOC and sure would hate to have it taken away. What is your policy?

By: Robert E. Harvey

Robert E. Harvey — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:50:39 +0000

Mike, I want to thank you for your reply and for making yourself available to the membership during these times. I’ve had the utmost confidence in our credit union since 57 years ago when they loaded my drill tower class in a bus one night and took us to the credit union where each member took out a loan of $300 to buy uniforms and turnouts. Keep up the god work!!

By: A. Ken Krupnik

A. Ken Krupnik — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:43:06 +0000

Mike,
I want to thank you and your staff for the great job you all do. Your staff always treats us so much better than outside banks do. These last weeks have been almost unsurpassed hard financial times for the country. I would like to share with everyone that I went to our credit union the day after the Federal bailout rescue bill failed and panic was everywhere in sight… except at our credit union. I did not see anyone making a run for their money. There was no panic there at all. Zero. So different from what I saw when I went and visited another bank recently. That is a testament of your great work and our member’s trust in our credit union. Please convey to your staff to keep up the good work.

By: Mike Mastro

Mike Mastro — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:38:14 +0000

While I understand that there is great concern regarding delinquencies and charge-offs of loans, I want to caution you about taking figures out of context. LAFCU is experiencing higher than normal charge-offs compared to our credit unions’ history. But a few issues need to be taken into consideration in order to put things into context. Our current delinquency ratio (loans that are currently over 30 days late) is .17% as compared to 2% to 5% in the industry. Also, stating a dollar amount without comparing it to our loan portfolio can be misleading. Our total year to date charge offs are $1,351,736 of which $245,524 was related to one foreclosure that was unrelated to the current economic climate. This number is composed of 115 charged off loans. In order to put these figures into perspective, one should compare them to our total loans of $668,000,000 or a charge off percentage of .0002%. As mentioned in previous posts, LAFCU did not participate in sub-prime loans or use stated income when granting loans. This fact and the strength of our membership positions us to weather the current economic climate. Management anticipates delinquencies and charge-offs to be higher than usual throughout the year of 2009 and thus is accruing reserves in order to protect the Credit Unions’ finances. This is a normal tactic that is practiced during high and low periods of delinquencies.