The aftermath of the subprime crisis highlighted the need for education as well as an opportunity for credit unions to reassert their place as trusted adviser, according to Tom Furrey, CEO of Western Credit Union, Columbus, Ohio.

“There has been a mass exodus of mortgage lenders,” he said. “The consumer wants to do business with someone they can trust. This is a real opportunity for Western and credit unions, in general, to be a bigger player in the mortgage market because of how credit unions do business in the first place.”

The $58 million asset credit union has offices in three cities—Plain City, Delaware and Columbus. Plain City is a small, rural community; Delaware is a bedroom community and the area around Western’s Columbus office has transitioned from largely blue collar to Hispanic and now is increasingly becoming home to a growing Somali community. The credit union’s challenge is to be able to provide specific mortgage products tailored for each of the three communities.

Western Credit Union, for instance, offers a “Streamline Mortgage” program for members that costs $499 for everything—title search, closing costs, and appraisal. It is geared toward the smaller mortgage. It helps people who have subprime mortgages and some equity in their homes.

“Western also places a premium on providing financial budgeting and counseling services to help members assess and improve their financial situations,” said Furrey. “We work and partner with the local consumers credit counseling service to provide these services free within the credit union’s offices.”

The best type of counseling is one-on-one, according to Furrey. “Workshops have their place, but people aren’t always comfortable talking about private financial issues in groups,” he said.

“Finances in general are frightening for most people,” said Furrey. “There are a lot of voices out there. It is the consummate tug of war for the consumer fighting between the logic and reason of ‘what is the best decision for me to make’ versus the ‘I want it now’ world we live in and the retailers made so readily available and possible in the past.”