MADISON, Wis.—Despite the U.S. economy encountering headwinds in Q1, CU lending continued to be strong in April, climbing 1% after a 0.6% increase in March, according to CUNA.
“The uneven macroeconomic data in the first quarter seemed to have no effect on credit union lending,” said Perc Pineda, CUNA senior economist. “The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its estimate of the first quarter GDP growth rate from an increase of 0.2% to a decrease of 0.7%. Despite weak first quarter GDP numbers, credit union lending continued to expand.”
Home equity lending—which some experts hope can fill in for a decline in refinance business—rose by 3.5%, followed by adjustable-rate mortgages at 2.1%, new-auto loans at 1.9%, unsecured personal loans at 1.6% and used-auto loans at 1.1%, CUNA reported. Fixed-rate first mortgages fell by 0.5%.
Year over year, loan growth increased 10.75% in April, a figure that tracks with CUNA’s forecast of 11% loan growth for 2015.
“Mortgage loan data point to a housing market that is picking up steam as the unemployment rate continues to fall,” Pineda said. “Housing starts, building permits and new-home sales rose 20.2%, 9.8% and 6.8%, respectively in April, signaling a brisk pace for the housing market ahead.”
The loan-to-savings ratio rose to 74.4% from 73.7% in April. Savings balances increased 0.1% during the month, passing $1 trillion in total savings nationwide.
Memberships grew by 0.4% to 103.2 million overall.