Business View Magazine | January 2021

281 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2021 UNI TED FEDERAL CREDI T UNION well-being of our community,” says O’Rourke. “We’re very excited about that acquisition.” Due to the impact of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, it was one of only six credit union bank purchase deals announced in 2020. O’Rourke admits, “The biggest challenge in the industry today is the economy – that, and the interest rate environment. With interest rates being at basically zero and having such a flat yield curve, credit unions, like every other financial institution, are experiencing compressed net interest margins. That puts pressure on our income. We have anticipated charge-offs from the economic environment, but we’ve been preparing for it by building up our loan loss reserves.” On the positive side, United has invested heavily in mortgages, an industry that has flourished amidst a complex and often contradictory patchwork of forces across the U.S over the last year. “The mortgage business has been extremely strong over the past several months,” says O’Rourke.