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A credit union based in the Pacific Northwest that has more than $2 billion in assets on its balance sheet is preparing for growth in its home-equity lending business.
iQ Credit Union was founded in “1940 with a schoolteacher’s shoebox and a handwritten ledger.” Today, the financial institution serves more than 104,000 members from its Vancouver, Washington, headquarters or from one of its 23 branches. Assets stand at $2.09 billion.
The credit union projects its home-equity business will grow 30% this year.
On Wednesday, an announcement indicated that iQ CU is implementing a new platform to power its home-equity lending operations. The company looked to FirstClose Inc., which has provided its settlement services order management platform since 2018.
According to the news release, FirstClose Equity has built-in workflows that streamline processes and builds efficiencies.
“At a time when origination costs have reached new highs, no one can afford inefficiencies that further compress margins, especially credit unions in the home-equity space,” iQ Credit Union Vice President of Consumer Lending John Hapke was quoted as saying in the statement. “Knowing that FirstClose easily integrates with our vendors and offers a full suite of competitive products is helping us reduce cost while simultaneously growing our home-equity offerings.”
Since May, FirstClose — a HELN advertiser — has announced that it brought on America First Credit Union, Truliant Federal Credit Union, and Georgia United Credit Union as home-equity clients.
Tedd Smith, CEO, FirstClose
“Credit unions, like iQ Credit Union, are looking for better ways to help their members reach their financial goals by tapping the $28 trillion home equity market,” said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose.
