During the second quarter of 2012, U.S. credit unions originated their highest-ever loan volume, financial consulting company Callahan & Associates said in a release. Credit unions reported $84.5 billion in loan originations for the quarter ending June 30. Combined with first-quarter originations, activity through the first six months of 2012 totaled $157 billion, 9 percent higher than the previous half-year record of $144.3 billion originated in the first six months of 2009. The loan activity in the first half of 2012 represented  7.6 percent of the mortgage loan market. “Credit unions have stepped up their role over the past five years as the mortgage lending market has undergone an unprecedented transformation,” said Jay Johnson, executive vice president for Callahan. “The key for credit unions will be in continuing to drive these trends as the housing market shifts from a refinance to a purchase market.”