Credit unions slightly improved net income position at mid-year, agency reports

Nearly nine in every 10 federally insured credit unions (88%) reported positive net income at the end of the second quarter of this year, the federal regulator of credit unions said Wednesday, up slightly from the same period a year ago (85%).

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) also noted that at least 70% of credit unions in every state had positive net income during the first half of 2019, and some states did much better. According to the agency, the share of federally insured credit unions with positive net income was highest in Alaska, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Vermont (all 100%), followed by Hawaii (98%).

The share was lowest, the agency said, in Arkansas (73%) and Louisiana (79%).

In other areas, the NCUA numbers (reflecting state-by-state results at the end of the 2019 second quarter) show:

  • Membership: Overall membership in federally insured credit unions grew during the year ending in the second quarter of 2019; however, at the median, membership was roughly unchanged. Membership was also unchanged at the median over the year ending in the second quarter of 2018. Nearly half of federally insured credit unions had fewer members at the end of the second quarter of 2019 than a year earlier. Credit unions with falling membership tend to be small; about 70% had less than $50 million in assets.
  • Return on average assets (ROAA): The median annualized return on average assets at federally insured credit unions was 63bp during the first half of 2019, compared to 52bp during the first half of 2018.
  • Loans-outstanding growth: The median growth was 4.6% over the year ending in the second quarter of 2019; the median loan growth rate during the previous year was 5.4%.

NCUA Quarterly U.S. Map Review: Second Quarter 2019