Federally insured credit unions saw their assets grow by nearly 12% in the first half of the year, with much of that growth coming in the second quarter, when deposits at the financial institutions grew as members sought a safe place to store their money during the financial downturn associated with the coronavirus crisis, data released last week from the federal credit union regulator indicate.
The mid-year numbers from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), based on second-quarter call reports, show federally insured credit unions holding more than $1.7 trillion in assets at midyear, up from $1.5 billion at year-end 2019. Most of the growth came in the second quarter (for $110.8 billion), when the financial impact of the crisis was most apparent.
Overall, the credit unions added $182.5 billion in assets by mid-year.
Other results from the NCUA compilation of call report data as of June 30 showed total memberships at 122.3 million (up 1.9 million from the end of 2019) and total federally insured credit unions of 5,164 (down from 5,236 at year-end 2019).
The NCUA also reported that the federally insured credit unions at mid-year:
- Held an overall net worth ratio of 10.46% (down from year-end 2019 of 11.37%);
- Posted return on average assets of 0.57% (down from 0.93% at the end of last year).