The National Credit Union Administration said total assets at federally insured credit unions climbed by $88 billion, or 7.3%, over the year to $1.29 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
That is just one tidbit of information that the agency released on Monday among a wide variety of fourth quarter 2016 financial performance figures for federally insured credit unions.
Credit unions with assets greater than $1 billion reported the strongest growth in loans, membership and net worth over the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2016, the agency reported, noting that at yearend, the 272 federally insured credit unions with assets greater than $1 billion held 61 percent of total system assets.
Meanwhile, the 3,510 credit unions with less than $50 million in assets accounted for just 4 percent of total system assets, and CUs with$10 to $50 million in assets reported a 5 percent decline in loans, an 8.7 percent decline in membership and a 5.7 percent decline in net worth.
NCUA is providing data on its Credit Union and Call Report Data
Credit unions eager to demonstrate to lawmakers how strong their grassroots are will now be able cite NCUA's latest membership figure for all federally insured credit unions: 106.9 million, up by 4.2 million members over 2015.
Though the industry posted some strong loan growth, with total loans outstanding increasing by $82 billion, or 10.4%, to $869.1 billion and balances up in every major category, the agency noted that loan performance was "mixed" across categories.
The delinquency rate on fixed real estate loans was 54 basis points in the fourth quarter, down from 64 basis points one year earlier, but the credit card delinquency rate was 114 basis points, up from 101 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2015. Auto loans also saw a rise in delinquency from 68 basis points last year to 72 basis points in 2016.
Still, the overall delinquency rate was at 83 basis points, just two basis points up from the year prior, with the charge-off ratio at 55 basis points, up from 48 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Other data highlights from the fourth quarter:
*The average outstanding loan balance in the fourth quarter of 2016 was $14,195, up $486, or 3.5%, from one year earlier.
*The loan-to-share ratio stood at 79.5% in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from 77.5% in the fourth quarter of 2015.
*The credit union system’s net worth ratio was 10.89 in the fourth quarter of 2016, almost identical to the 10.92 figure from one year earlier.
*Net income jumped by 10.6% to $9.6 billion in 2016 from 2015.
*The net interest margin for federally insured credit unions stood at $36.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, or 2.9% of average assets.
*The return on average assets for federally insured credit unions was 77 basis points in 2016, slightly higher from 75 basis points in 2015. The median return on average assets was 35 basis points, compared with 33 basis points one year earlier.
*The number of federally insured credit unions declined to 5,785 in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 6,021 in the fourth quarter of 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2016, there were 3,608 federal credit unions and 2,177 federally insured, state-chartered credit unions.
*The number of credit unions with a low-income designation rose to 2,491 in the fourth quarter from 2,297 one year earlier.
*Net member business loan balances, including unfunded commitments, increased $8.5 billion, or 14.6%, to $66.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
*Credit card balances rose $3.8 billion, or 7.9%, to $52.7 billion
*Non-federally guaranteed student loans rose $0.3 billion, or 9.0%, to $3.8 billion.
*The delinquency rate on loans at federally insured credit unions was 83 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2016, little changed from 81 basis points one year earlier.
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, praised the health of the industry, as reflected by the fourth quarter numbers.
“The year-end figures demonstrate credit unions’ solid commitment to providing excellent products and services to their members,” he said. “This data shows credit unions are maintaining healthy growth by doing what they do better than any other providers: focusing on the financial needs of their member-owners and keeping members’ interests as their top concern.”
