Federally insured credit unions (FICUs) grew their total assets by $96 billion to a total of $2.31 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 – an increase of 4.4% from a year ago, the federal credit union regulator reported in first quarter call report data released Wednesday.
The credit unions grew loans outstanding by $70.7 billion to a total of $1.6 trillion, up 4.6% year over year, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) said. Insured shares and deposits grew $40 billion to a total of $1.77 trillion, up 2.3% from a year ago.
Credit unions with assets over $1 billion – a total of 443 institutions – also reported total overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fee income of $915,624,727. This was the first quarter in which the institutions were required to separately disclose such data, the agency said.
Other first-quarter call report data show that:
- FICUs’ net income totaled $15.0 billion at an annual rate, down $2.8 billion, or 15.6%, from the first quarter of 2023. Interest income rose $21.4 billion, or 24.0%, over the year to $110.4 billion annualized. Non-interest income rose $2.6 billion, or 10.6%, to $26.6 billion annualized, largely reflecting an increase in other non-interest income.
- The credit union system’s provision for loan and lease losses or credit loss expense increased $4.0 billion, or 45.8%, over the year to $12.7 billion at an annual rate in the first quarter of 2024.
- Total shares and deposits (includes both insured and noninsured) rose $45.0 billion, or 2.4%, over the year to $1.93 trillion. Regular shares declined $68.0 billion, or 10.6%, to $574.4 billion. Other deposits increased $124.8 billion, or 14.6%, to $978.7 billion, led by share certificate accounts, which grew $155.7 billion, or 43.0%, over the year to $517.8 billion.
- The credit union system’s net worth increased by $13.3 billion, or 5.7%, over the year to $245.0 billion. The aggregate net worth ratio – net worth as a percentage of assets – stood at 10.62% in the first quarter of 2024, up from 10.48% one year earlier.
- Return on average assets was 66 basis points at an annual rate in the first quarter of 2024, down from 81 basis points in the first quarter of 2023. The median annualized return on average assets was 55 basis points, down 7 basis points from a year earlier.
- The number of federally insured credit unions declined to 4,572 in the first quarter of 2024, from 4,712 in the first quarter of 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, there were 2,862 federal credit unions and 1,710 federally insured, state-chartered credit unions. The year-over-year decline is consistent with long-running industry consolidation trends.
NCUA Releases First Quarter 2024 Credit Union System Performance Data