According to credit union executives and NCUA data, the most current edition of Credit Union Times states that, in general, credit unions appear to foreclose on a smaller percentage of their mortgage loans than other financial institutions and usually take longer to go through the process.

In the Credit Union Times report, RealtyTrac, a company that promotes itself as the "leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties," reported that foreclosures nationwide rose 7% in July over the previous month and were 32% higher than what they had been a year before.  The worst states for home foreclosures were Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, which has been consistent for many months.  However, Colorado, Idaho, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon and Utah were also in the upper rankings for RealtyTrac.

"No doubt our foreclosures have been lower than the nation overall," said Jack Gaffney, executive vice-president for lending for the Navy Federal Credit Union, "but generally higher than we are used to."  Partly the reason credit unions have a smaller percentage of foreclosures is that they did not make the same sorts of risky, novelty loans that got so many homeowners and other lenders in trouble.

"Lenders are slower to foreclose when housing prices are in the dumps," Gaffney went on to say, "and they calculate they will have to hold the properties for longer.  If a market starts to rise, they might foreclose faster in order to move the foreclosed property back into a more profitable situation more quickly."