WASHINGTON—Credit union loans outstanding decreased 0.02% in March, marking the third straight month lending had declined, according to America’s Credit Unions’ latest Monthly Credit Union Estimates.
The estimates are based on information from a monthly sample of credit unions and are revised whenever more complete data is available.
Some loan categories did see increases, including other mortgage loans, which led loan growth during the month rising 2.4%, followed by home equity loans (0.7%), fixed-rate mortgages (0.3%), and unsecured personal loans (0.1%). But other categories saw decreases, including used auto loans (-0.5%), credit card loans (-0.2%), new auto loans (-1.1%), and adjustable-rate mortgages (-0.6%), ACU said.
Liquidity Pressures Should Ease
The trend lines should reduce some of the liquidity pressures credit unions have been feeling. Credit union savings balances increased 1.6% in March, with share drafts leading savings growth during the month at 2.7%, followed by one-year certificates (2.3%), regular shares (1.2%), individual retirement accounts (0.7%) and money market accounts (0.2%).
Additional Findings
Additional findings include:
- Credit unions’ 60-plus day delinquency remained at 0.8%.
- The loan-to-savings ratio decreased to 82.9% in March from 84.2% in February, while the liquidity ratio (the ratio of surplus funds maturing in less than one year to borrowings plus other liabilities) increased from 14.3% to 15.7%, ACU said.
- Total credit union memberships increased 0.2% in March to 142.4 million.
- The movement’s overall capital-to-asset ratio remained at 9.1%. The total dollar amount of capital increased 1.2% to $212.7 billion.
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