Last year was a very good year for the credit union industry, according to new data released by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
‘Credit union assets grew 6.5 percent in 2012, up from 5.1 percent in 2011, as members rebuilt their personal balance sheets,’ says Steve Rick, CUNA's senior economist. ‘Most of the [year-over-year] savings growth came in the form of liquid deposits like share-draft and regular-share accounts, which increased 13.2 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. Record-low interest rates kept share certificate balance growth in negative territory, falling 2.4 percent over the year.’
CUNA also reports that credit union loans totaled $613.1 billion, compared with $587 billion in December 2011. The only loan category that saw a decline was adjustable-rate mortgages, which dropped 1.1%.
‘Credit quality showed dramatic improvement in 2012, as loan delinquency rates fell from 1.6 percent in December 2011 to 1.1 percent in December 2012,’ Rick says. ‘With expectations for an improving labor market in 2013, we expect delinquency rates to fall to 0.9 percent, slightly above the long-run average of 0.8 percent. Falling loan-loss provisions should keep credit union earnings around 0.9 percent in 2013.’