Insights from Catalyst

Before the pandemic era, interest in unsecured loan participations was minimal. However, in recent months, the Member Credit department at Catalyst Corporate has received increased inquiries from buyers looking for any type of loan participations, including unsecured loan portfolios.

Payments fraud has always been a concern, and reported incidents continue to rise. And now, even some of the traditionally lower-fraud payments channels are seeing an increase…such as ACH debit and ACH credit fraud.

As bond yields continue to rise more rapidly than rates on certificates of deposit (CDs), and fewer CDs are being issued, Catalyst Corporate’s Brokerage Team is fielding more credit union inquiries about investing in bonds. Is your credit union considering investment bonds for the first time? If so, where do you start?

Credit union management has been challenged to walk a tightrope, especially this past year, focusing simultaneously on member needs and changes to the balance sheet. It required striking a balance – without leaning too far in either direction – between member behavior and asset diversification.

Historically, belief has been that surge deposits – during economically challenging periods such as this – were temporary and expected to dissipate once the economy returned to an upward trend. However, the opposite proved to be true during the Great Recession of 2008. So, how should credit unions approach the current wave of surge deposits?