The fund that insures savings in credit unions had $226.5 million in net income last year and a net position of $15.7 billion as of Dec. 31, according to a report Thursday to the National Credit Union (NCUA) Board during its open meeting.
Total assets for the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) declined to $15.8 billion in 2018 from $16.7 billion at the end of 2017. The fund equity ratio as of Dec. 31 was 1.39%, 0.01% higher than needed to remain at the board-approved normal operating level. (To address the overage, the board on March 6 approved a $160.1 million fund distribution to insured credit unions.)
The fund’s reserve balance declined from $925.5 million in 2018 to $119.1 million at year-end after $13.9 million in reserve expense, $39.6 million in charges for assisted mergers, and $751.9 million in charges for liquidations, the agency reported. Staff noted that of the remaining $119.1 million, $7.3 million is allocated to specific cases, and the other $111.8 million is for general reserves.
NCUA also reported that, as of Dec. 31:
- The number of CAMEL codes 4 and 5 credit unions decreased to 193 from 203 in the third quarter of 2018. Code 4 and 5 credit unions held $10.6 billion in insured shares, or 0.93% of total insured shares; and $11.8 billion in assets, up 2.6% from $11.5 billion in the third quarter.
- The number of CAMEL code 3 credit unions decreased to 940 from 1,001 in the third quarter of 2018. Code 3 credit unions held $45.6 billion in insured shares, or 3.99% of total insured shares; and $52.7 billion in total assets, down 5.7% from $55.9 billion in the third quarter.
The NCUSIF and the agency’s other three funds received “clean” audit opinions from NCUA’s independent auditor, KPMG LLP.