TEMPE, Ariz.—One analyst is suggesting that the problems with taxi medallion loans in New York City are already reaching CUs outside the Empire State.
For example, the analyst suggested the merger of Altier Credit Union here into the 11th largest credit union in the country—America First Credit Union, Riverdale, Utah, was driven by such problem loans.
Keith Leggett, the former senior vice president and senior economist at the American Bankers Association, pointed out that Altier CU had participated in taxi medallion loans, which adversely affected the credit union's operation.
“Due to large losses through the first three quarters of 2017, the credit union was significantly undercapitalized at the end of the third quarter of 2017,” Leggett said.
Both the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions and NCUA have approved the merger, Leggett noted. The merger becomes effective on March 1. As CUToday.info has extensively reported, ride sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, have led to plummeting values in taxi medallions across the country, hitting New York City the hardest.
Leggett has also stated that taxi medallion participations could total $3 billion across the nation.
Three New York City taxi medallion CUs have already been conserved. NCUA last year placed medallion lender LOMTO FCU, Woodside, N.Y., into conservatorship, as well as $1.8-billion Melrose Credit Union. Also, in September of 2015, taxi medallion lender, Montauk CU, was conserved and then later merged into Bethpage FCU.