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Federally Insured Credit Unions Assets Grow $113B During 2019, But Small CUs Still Struggling


ALEXANDRIA, Va.–Federally insured credit unions during 2019 grew total assets by $113 billion (7.8%), loans by $64 billion (6.2%) and membership was up by 4.2 million, according to NCUA’s Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary for Q4 2019.

Credit unions also showed improvements in net interest margins and ROA. But CUs in the smallest asset categories once again showed declines in lending and membership.
The data is based on call reports from 5,236 federally insured CUs, representing approximately 120.4 million members.
According to the report, here’s how credit unions performed during Q4 and 2019:

 Performance by Asset Category
In its analysis, NCUA once again noted consistent with long-running trends, credit unions with assets of at least $1 billion reported the strongest growth in loans, membership, and net worth over the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2019. Credit unions with less than $500 million in assets reported declines in those categories over the year.
Specifically:
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with assets of at least $1 billion increased to 330 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 308 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These 330 credit unions held $1.1 trillion in assets or 68% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported loan growth of 9.7%. Membership rose 8.4%. Net worth increased by 12.4%.
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with assets of at least $500 million but less than $1 billion rose to 247 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 237 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These 247 credit unions held $172.7 billion in total assets, or 11% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported a 1.9% increase in total loans outstanding over the year. Membership rose 0.3% and net worth increased by 3.3%.
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with at least $100 million but less than $500 million in assets declined to 1,018 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 1,026 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These 1,018 credit unions held $227.8 billion in total assets or 15% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported a 3.0% decline in total loans outstanding. Membership fell 4.6%. Net worth edged up 0.6%.
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with at least $50 million but less than $100 million in assets declined to 677 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 688 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These 677 credit unions held $48.5 billion in total assets or 3% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported a 2.4% decrease in total loans. Membership fell 4.3%. Net worth rose by 1.1%.
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with assets of at least $10 million but less than $50 million declined to 1,635 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 1,695 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These credit unions held $41.3 billion in assets or 3% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported a 3.0% decrease in loans. Membership declined by 5.8%. Net worth fell 1.0%.
  • The number of federally insured credit unions with less than $10 million in assets declined to 1,329 in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 1,421 in the fourth quarter of 2018. These credit unions held $5.5 billion in assets or 0.4% of total system assets. Credit unions in this category reported a 7.0% decline in loans. Membership fell 9.1%. Net worth declined by 4.6%. 

The full report can be found here.

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