New York state on Friday took over a failing credit union that put nearly all of its money into loans for yellow-taxi medallions as Uber and similar services continue to gobble up much of the market.
The step was taken because of “unsafe and unsound conditions” at the federally insured Montauk Credit Union, according to the Financial Services Department.
Some 98 percent of the state-chartered institution’s $178.5 million assets are taxi-medallion loans, sources said.
The move could mark the first major fall of lenders who specialize in making medallion loans.
Yellow-cab medallions have plunged in value from $1.05 million in June 2013 apiece to $800,000 this past January.
“It’s indicative of how much owner-drivers are struggling to make ends meet,” said Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Desai put the blame squarely on Uber, which she says created an unequal playing field — saying she’s spoken to drivers who filed for bankruptcy after their incomes fell by more than 20 percent in the past two years.