Highlights include the following:
- During April, credit unions picked-up 358,000 in new memberships and loan and savings balances grew at a 10.7 percent and 5.4 percent seasonally-adjusted annualized pace, respectively.
- Firms hired 159,000 workers, nominal consumer spending increased 0.6 percent, and long-term interest rates increased 3 basis points. Real GDP is expected to grow above trend over the next two years, supporting credit union lending and membership growth.
- At the end of April, CUNA’s monthly estimates reported 5,724 credit unions in operation, three fewer than one month earlier. Year-over-year, the number of credit unions declined by 233, more than the 178 lost in the 12 months ending in April 2017.
- Total credit union assets fell 0.2 percent in April, less than the 0.5 percent gain reported in April of 2017. Assets rose 6.2 percent during the past year due to a 5.4 percent increase in deposits, a 37 percent increase in borrowings and a 6.1 percent increase in capital.
- The nation’s credit unions increased their loan portfolios by 1.1 percent in April, greater than the 0.9 percent pace reported in April 2017. Loan balances are up 10.7 percent during the last 12 months. With loan balances growing faster than savings, credit union liquidity is tightening up as the credit union average loan-to-savings ratio reached 82.9 percent, up from 79 percent in April 2017.
- Credit union memberships rose 0.31 percent in April, down from the 0.39 percent gain reported in April 2017. Memberships are up 4.5 percent during the past year due to robust demand for credit, solid job growth and credit unions having comparatively lower fees and loan interest rates.
- Credit union loan delinquency came in at 0.85 percent in April, up from 0.74 percent in April 2017. Credit union loan charge-offs rose to 0.60 percent in the first quarter, up from the 0.58 percent reported in the first quarter of 2017, as loans originated over the last couple of years are now seasoning.
For the full report, go to cunamutual.com.
