CUs on the Bailout: Us Too

Credit union leaders were working through the weekend to ensure that the massive government bailout of the mortgage industry includes their industry, too -- especially corporate credit unions, which are treading water amidst huge portfolios of underwater mortgage-backed securities. According to a report in Credit Union Journal, a sister publication to National Mortgage News, corporate CUs have accrued some $10 billion in unrealized losses on their mortgage-backed securities -- more than the capital of the entire corporate network. Almost every corporate CU is holding underwater mortgage securities, and more losses are expected to come to light this week and next as the corporates report their August financials to their members, the newspaper reported.