Skip to main content

First mortgages, used car loans and credit cards were responsible for most of the lending gains among credit unions in July.

New car loan balances continued to decline.

The Fed’s Consumer Credit Report released Wednesday showed credit unions held $61.5 billion in credit card debt July 31, up 1% from a year earlier — the first 12-month gain since April 2020.

Balances rose 0.9% from June to July, compared with an average June-to-July gain of 1.2% from 2015 to 2019.


Recovery from pre-pandemic levels was slow. Card balances were still 6.5% below February 2020 levels at credit unions — unchanged from June. Balances at banks were 9.1% below February 2020, an improvement from June’s 9.5% deficit.

Credit unions held 6.4% of the nation’s credit card debt as of July 31, unchanged from a month or a year earlier.

Banks held $860.3 billion in credit card debt July 31, up 0.9% from a year earlier and up 0.5% from a month earlier. Their share was 90% in July, unchanged from June and up from 89.7% in July 2020.

CUNA’s Monthly Credit Union Estimates released Sept. 3 showed credit unions held $1.23 trillion in loans as of July 31, up 4.8% from a year earlier. The 0.8% gain from June was only slightly behind the pre-pandemic average of 0.9%.

New car loans fell 2.1% to $140.6 billion, while used car loans grew 6.4% to $254.1 billion.

From June to July, new car loan balances fell 0.1%, while used car balances rose 0.8%. The pre-pandemic average was 1% for both.

First mortgages grew 8% to $548.9 billion. A year earlier, from July 2019 to July 2020, it rose 13.4%. Second-lien mortgages fell 6.1% to $85.1 billion. A year earlier, it fell 2.4%.

The 60-day-plus delinquency rate was 0.44% as of July 31, unchanged from June and down from 0.54% in July 2020.

  • The nation’s 5,218 credit unions had 129.4 million members in July, up 3.3% from a year earlier. Other balances and 12-month changes in the report included:
  • Loans per member grew 1.5% to $9,532. A year earlier, from July 2019 to July 2020, they rose 3.7%.
  • Assets grew 13.7% to $2.05 trillion. A year earlier, they rose 17%.
  • Fixed-rate first mortgages rose 12.5% to $431.7 billion.
  • Adjustable-rate first mortgages fell 6.1% to $117.2 billion.
  • Second mortgages fell 10.2% to $29.6 billion.
  • Home equity lines of credit fell 3.7% to $55.5 billion.
  • Savings grew 14.8% to $1.77 trillion, compared with an 18.5% gain a year earlier.
  • Savings per member grew 11.1% to $13,656, compared with a 14.7% gain a year earlier.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The FRB Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent.

  Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate. In support of its goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities. Beginning in April, the Committee will slow the...

Caught in Dot Partners with Boston Firefighters Credit Union

2 min read By  Maureen Dahill Published On: March 13th, 2025 Categories:  News 0 Comments on Caught in Dot Partners with Boston Firefighters Credit Union Big news, Dorchester!  Caught in Dot  is proud to announce our partnership with  Boston Firefighters Credit Union (BFCU) —a true neighborhood institution that’s been serving our local heroes since 1948. As a woman-owned business, we’re thrilled to team up with a community partner who shares our values of supporting and uplifting the people who make Boston great. BFCU was founded by Boston firefighters with one mission in mind:  “People Helping People.”  What started as a way to assist firefighters struggling financially has grown into a full-service financial institution serving  nearly 12,000 members —but their dedication to first responders and their families has never wavered. Over the years, membership has expanded beyond firefighters to include all Massachusetts first responders, including p...

The Pros and Cons of Tariffs

Since there has been so much discussion on Tariffs, I felt a post would benefit our membership. Grant Sheehan CEO NCOFCU Tariffs 1440 Business & Finance Background A tariff—a word derived from the Arabic arafa, meaning “to make known”— is a tax imposed by a government on goods that are imported or exported . Historically, tariffs have served as a primary source of revenue and a means to protect domestic industries, as they make foreign products more expensive, encouraging consumers to purchase locally produced goods. The tools have a checkered history, famously bolstering US textiles, German steel, Japanese cars, South Korean technology, and more, arguably contributing to major economic downturns like the Great Depression. Tariffs can be specific (a fixed fee per unit) or ad valorem (a percentage of the item's value). Purpose Economically, tariffs aim to protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and influence trade policy. By imposing taxes on imported goods —wh...

Trump Administration Spurs Credit Unions' Return To Cryptocurrency

  03/06/2025 06:11 pm Share         By Ray Birch DALLAS—The Trump Administration is bringing more credit unions back to offering cryptocurrency, says Bank Social, which offers advice to CUs considering stepping into this space. The return to offering the service by more credit unions follows a sharp decline in cooperatives offering crypto services to members following the collapse of FTX in late 2022 and the sudden departure of NYDIG within the CU industry not long afterward. Becky Reed, COO of crypto platform Bank Social, said the two primary reasons credit unions are coming back is the Trump Administration’s pro-crypto agenda and its emphasis on deregulation. “The last six months we have seen interest begin to gain ground in digital assets—not just for investing but for payments, fractional lending and more,” said Reed. GlobalData banking analyst Harry Swain said FIs could face fewer crypto regulatory hurdles under the Trump Administration. “As you'll, recall ...

With Debate Over What July’s Inflation Data Mean, One Fed Pres Sees Rate Increase in September

WASHINGTON–At least one Federal Reserve Bank president said he believes the Fed will again need to raise rates when it meets in September, despite new data showing the rate of inflation has slowed. Neel Kashkari Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he anticipates the Federal Reserve will push up rates by another 1.5 percentage points this year and to around 4.4% next year. “This is just the first hint that maybe inflation is starting to move in the right direction, but it doesn’t change my path,” said Kashkari during a panel discussion hosted by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group in Colorado. The Wall Street Journal noted ...