One third of states show decline or no growth in credit memberships at year ending Q1 ’19; assets overall advance, but two states see shrinkage

Credit unions nationwide continued to grow in the first quarter, but that growth was concentrated mostly in larger credit unions and in particular states – with some states showing a retraction in memberships and little or negative growth in assets – state-by-state numbers released Friday by their federal regulator showed.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), in its first quarter 2019 State Credit Union Data Report, stated that, nationally, overall median membership growth at federally insured credit unions continued in the first quarter, at 0.2% (for a total of 117.3 million). The agency noted that was up from the previous reporting period (the year ending in the first quarter of 2018), when membership was unchanged at the median. Credit unions headquartered in Alaska (2.9%) and Nevada (at 2.9% and 2.6%, respectively) posted the highest median membership growth rates for the one-year period ending in the first quarter 2019.

However, the agency also reported that the median membership growth rate in 14 states and the District of Columbia was negative. At the median, NCUA said, membership declined the most in Illinois (-1.4%), followed by New Jersey and Pennsylvania (both -1.3%). Other states showing negative median membership growth were Connecticut (-0.3%), Delaware (-0.2%), Massachusetts (-0.5%), Michigan (-0.2%), Mississippi (-0.3%), North Dakota (-0.3%), Nebraska (-0.4%), New York (-0.1%), Oklahoma (-0.1%), and Wyoming (-0.2%). Credit union membership growth in D.C. was -0.9%, the NCUA numbers showed.

At the median, NCUA said, membership was unchanged in Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, and West Virginia. Credit unions with falling membership tend to be small, the agency said: about 75% had less than $50 million in assets.

In assets, NCUA reported, credit unions in most states recorded increases (for a total of $1.5 trillion), according to the first quarter report – although at a slower rate than the same period a year earlier.

The agency said median asset growth over the year ending in the 1Q ‘19 was 1.6%; in the period for 2018, the median growth rate in assets was 2.2%, NCUA said. Median asset growth was highest in Idaho and Alaska (at 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively), NCUA said.

Credit unions in two states recorded a decrease in total assets, NCUA stated: Median asset growth was negative in New Jersey (-1.0%) and Kansas (-0.4%) over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019. All other states saw increases; however, growth was slowest in Louisiana (0.1%) and West Virginia (0.3%).

NCUA: Q1 2019 State Credit Union Data Report Now Available