Credit Union Loan Growth Totals $745.2 Billion in Q2

The number of federally insured credit unions dropped in the second quarter, but the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) reported Thursday that total loan growth was positive.

According to the NCUA, total loans at federally insured credit unions reached $745.2 billion in the second quarter of 2015, an increase of 3.2 percent from the previous quarter and 10.6 percent from last year.

The total first mortgage loans outstanding reached $306.2 billion, up 3.1 percent from the previous quarter and up 9.6 percent from the second quarter of 2014.

Fixed-rate first mortgage loans accounted for 59.3 percent of first mortgage loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter, the report showed. Second mortgage loans totaled $72.2 billion, up 0.9 percent from the previous quarter and up 2.4 percent from the second quarter of 2014.

At the end of the second quarter, the loans-to-shares ratio was 75.5 percent, up 2.2 percentage points from the previous quarter and up 3.9 percentage points from the end of the second quarter of 2014, NCUA said.

NCUA found that credit unions investments totaled $279 billion at the end of the second quarter, a decline of 4.2 percent from the end of the second quarter of 2014.

“Across America, there’s a growing recognition that credit unions offer solid value to their members,” said Debbie Matz, NCUA board chairman. “More people see credit unions as an affordable financial services alternative. Credit unions continue to increase lending while taking steps to shed certain investments that would pose risk when interest rates inevitably begin to rise. All these trends are signs of a robust system.”

Source: NCUA

The number of credit unions dropped in the second quarter, but the NCUA said that membership numbers grew more than three million from last year.

Credit union membership reached 101,084,138 for the quarter ending June 30, 2015, up more than three million from the end of the second quarter of 2014, the NCUA said.

Meanwhile, during the same time period and consistent with longstanding trends for financial institutions, the number of credit unions fell 4.2 percent to 6,159, down 270 from the end of the second quarter of 2014.

“The NCUA’s second-quarter call report data confirms that more and more people are recognizing credit unions’ value,” said Dan Berger, CEO of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). “Credit unions’ exceptional member service, competitive rates, low fees and low-cost, high-quality loans are a formula for success for their members and our nation’s economic growth.”

Click here to view the National Credit Union Association's full report.