Reversing a downward trend, the number of community-development credit unions jumped 16% to 169 while assets doubled to $250 million during the 12 months ending June 30.
The growth can be attributed to a friendlier regulatory environment and healthier economy, said Chris Kerecman, director of the National Credit Union Administration's Office of Community Development Credit Unions.
Since December 1992 the NCUA has granted its "low income" designation to 14 new charters and about 30 existing credit unions.
Under the low-income designation, a credit union can accept deposits from nonmembers and gain access to low-interest loans from the agency.
The agency's willingness to charter such institution breaks from its stance in the late 1980s when it was busy merging and liquidating them.
"We had a trench-warfare mentality then," Mr. Kerecman said.
But agency director Robert Swan began championing community-development credit unions within the agency. NCUA Chairman Norman E. D'Amours has made the institutions one of his priorities.
Delinquency and capital ratios also improved at community-development credit unions, according to a report by the NCUA.
Despite the growth, the credit unions' penetration of their membership fields is weak. According to the report, only 7% of the estimated 3.7 million people sligible to join have accounts with these institutions.
"It's not an indicator we necessarily look at," said Cliff Rosenthal, executive director of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.
The credit unions are driven "by what their capacity is," he said. "You'll see penetration increase as capacity increases."
