Navigant loan growth defies trend

CRESTING A WAVE: Navigant Credit Union passed the $1 billion mark in total loans for the first time in 2013, besting its 2012 total by more than $250 million, according to Navigant Chief Lending Officer Fred Reinhardt. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
CRESTING A WAVE: Navigant Credit Union passed the $1 billion mark in total loans for the first time in 2013, besting its 2012 total by more than $250 million, according to Navigant Chief Lending Officer Fred Reinhardt. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Navigant Credit Union’s 21 percent spike in total loans in 2013 over the previous year spotlights the Smithfield-based financial institution’s notable growth in two segments – residential mortgages and home-equity loans – as lenders in Rhode Island and nationwide struggle with the sluggish and competitive marketplace.
“We crested [more than] $1 billion in total loans for the first time ever in September 2013,” said Navigant Credit Union Chief Lending Officer Fred Reinhardt.
Navigant’s loans totaled nearly $1.1 billion in 2013, up from about $830 million in 2012. A portion of the increase came with Navigant’s 2013 merger with Columbus Credit Union with its two branches in Warren and East Providence.
“Of the increase of about $220 million in total loans, about $48 million came as a result of the merger with Columbus Credit Union,” said Reinhardt.
Navigant’s overall loan growth far outpaced the national trend for credit unions.
Nationwide, credit union estimates show a 6.8 percent loan growth in 2013, Credit Union National Association spokesman Ben Fishel said in an email.
Nationally, credit union loan growth has exceeded savings growth for the first time since the recession, said Fishel.
The substantial loan growth experienced by Navigant in 2013 is unusual and is a result of several components, said Reinhardt.
“Our word-of-mouth referrals are extraordinary. People are getting to know that we carefully look at each individual loan,” said Reinhardt. “We also had some attractive rates and aggressive marketing.”
Navigant recorded a 26 percent increase in residential mortgage loans in 2013 over the previous year, a departure from the experience of many mortgage lenders in the state. Navigant’s residential mortgages totaled $618 million in 2013, compared to $491 million the previous year. “The residential mortgage loans were not generally at a lower rate than others offered. As a matter of fact, there were some days other lenders had lower rates than we did,” said Reinhardt.
Much of the residential mortgage lending was refinancing because of low rates in the first half of 2013, and that slowed somewhat, but not completely, when interest rates went up midyear, said Reinhardt.
Many bankers point to the increased regulations for lending as a factor in decreased mortgage activity, but Reinhardt said there is some flexibility within the regulations.
“Our borrowers are not less creditworthy, just the opposite,” said Reinhardt. “We just take the time to find a mortgage product that meets needs of the borrower and the requirements of the credit union.”
Navigant’s growth in residential mortgages defies the state trend.
“Residential mortgages were down overall in Rhode Island in 2013 compared to the previous year,” said Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association President Deborah Imondi.
“I was at a conference in Washington, D.C., in October with mortgage bankers from all over the country and everybody was singing the same tune – Rhode Island isn’t really any different than most other areas,” said Imondi. “For Navigant to be able to see that kind of increase is admirable.”
Navigant also leaped far ahead of national credit union growth in mortgage lending. Nationally, credit unions averaged an estimated 5.2 percent growth in mortgage lending, according to CUNA data, said Fishel.
Home-equity loans were another area of substantial growth for Navigant, increasing from $152 million in 2012 to $198 million in 2013.
“We had about a 30 percent growth in home-equity loans in 2013, with about 75 percent of those loans to new members,” said Reinhardt. Navigant membership, basically, requires opening an account. •

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