Full second-quarter data for the credit union industry won’t be available until sometime next month when the National Credit Union Administration releases its quarterly figures, but new analysis from Callahan & Associates provides a window into how CUs fared during the worst of the pandemic.
A recent Trendwatch webinar from the firm noted that based on analysis of 99% of industry assets, savings balances during the first half of 2020 rose by more than $176 billion, a nearly threefold increase over the growth seen during the first half of last year.
Credit unions are no strangers to managing a surge in deposits, but for a variety of reasons,
Callahan also reported strong lending numbers — loans are up $314 billion through June, an increase of 26% compared with the first half of last year.
The bad news, according to Callahan’s data, is 94% of that was through first-mortgage originations. Nearly every other loan category is down, according to several data sources, though those figures are generally only through March.
Despite the pandemic, Callahan reported deepening member relationships in the last year. More than 4.1 million members have joined credit unions since June 2019, the firm said, with the average member’s relationship increasing by nearly $1,400 to reach a total of $20,676.
“Members are turning to their credit union during these unusual times, as evidenced by the double-digit savings growth,” Jay Johnson, Callahan’s chief collaboration officer, said in a press release. “This strengthens the relationships with their credit unions and underscores the trust they have in the cooperative model. Of course, the growth wouldn’t happen without credit union employees, who are the financial first responders for members. Credit union employees were able to adapt to a new work environment on a short timeline while continuing to serve members and help them navigate a period of tremendous uncertainty.”
