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(From Credit Union Journal) – The National Credit Union Administration on Tuesday released its Quarterly State Map Review, highlighting year-over-year trends at the individual state level in areas such as lending, assets, shares and deposits, net income and more. The report indicated a continuation of many of the trends that have defined 2019: rising deposit rates and growth in lending even as the overall number of CUs shrinks and smaller institutions – which make up the bulk of the industry – continue to lose members and shut their doors.
A look at first quarter and second quarter coverage of this same report can be found here, while coverage and analysis of a recent NCUA report on national trends can be found here.
Membership growth
Credit union membership overall continues to rise but NCUA reported that growth at the median remains flat. Median membership at the end of Q3 was unchanged from a year earlier, while membership at the end of Q2 2018 was up just 0.1%. Nearly half of all federally insured CUs had fewer members at the end of September 2019 than they did one year earlier, though NCUA noted that those losing members tend to be small – 70% or more of those with flagging membership had $50 million or less in assets.
Credit unions in two western states saw the biggest gains, with Alaska and Wyoming reporting median increases of 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively.
But 18 states and Washington, DC, saw negative median membership growth. Pennsylvania and Illinois credit unions saw the biggest drop, while membership at Louisiana, Maryland and West Virginia CUs did not change.
Loan growth
Loan growth continues to slow, dropping to 3.8% at the close of September, down from 4.6% at the end of Q2 and a steep drop from the 5.9% recorded in Q3 2018.
Still, only one state saw negative loan growth, with loans outstanding in Arkansas declining by 40 basis points. Arizona and New Jersey saw the slowest growth rates (0.2% each).
On the positive side, lending Minnesota surged, with Gopher State CUs experiencing a 7.4% jump in loans. Delaware and Wyoming also saw strong gains, at 6.5% each.
Asset growth
Total industry assets surpassed $1.54 trillion at the close of Q3, and NCUA reports half of all federally insured credit unions at that time saw asset growth of 1.9% or more. Median asset growth at the end of Q2 was 1.7%.
As reported, assets are unevenly distributed across the industry. Out of more than 5,000 active institutions, 319 of them (all with assets of $1 billion or more) hold 67% of total industry assets, whereas the 1,352 CUs with assets of $10 million or less make up just 0.4% of total assets.
At the individual state level, Idaho led the nation in asset growth as of Sept. 30, at 7.8%, followed by Wyoming with 5.9% growth. New Jersey (-1.2%) and Connecticut (-0.3%) both saw negative growth, while Arkansas, Delaware and North Carolina all reported growth of 0.3% or lower.
Net income
On a national scale, 89% of federally insured credit unions earned positive net income during the first three quarters of the year, up one percentage point year over year.
Seventy percent or more of federally insured credit unions in each state had positive net income throughout the first three quarters of 2019, with 100% of CUs in Alaska, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire and Vermont reporting a profit. In Hawaii, Iowa and New Mexico, 98% of all CUs finished the quarter in the black.
Net income stats were lowest in Arkansas (75%) and Washington, DC (78%).
ROA
Annualized return on average assets continues to rise, hitting 65 basis points at the end of Q3, compared with 60 basis points during the first three quarters of last year and 62 basis points at the close of Q2 2019.
New Mexico continues to lead in this category, with ROA of 99 basis points during the first three quarters of the year, followed by South Carolina at 94 basis points. At the other end of the spectrum, New Jersey’s median ROA was 39 basis points, followed by Connecticut and Washington, DC, which both reported ROA of 43 BPs.
Delinquencies
Despite the slowdown in lending, delinquency rates continue to decline. Median total delinquencies at federally insured CUs dropped to 60 basis points, compared with 66 at the close of Q3 2018. That figure stood at 59 basis points at the end of June 2018.
In line with recent CU Journal reporting, New Jersey credit unions saw the nation’s highest median delinquency rate (152 BPs) followed by Louisiana at 108. Delinquencies were lowest in North Dakota (21 basis points) and New Hampshire (22 basis points).
Loan-to-share ratios
The national median loan-to-share (LTS) ratio on Sept. 30 stood at 71%, up one point from the previous quarter and up two points from one year prior.
Vermont and Wisconsin hold the nation’s highest LTS ratios, 91% and 88%, while Delaware and New Jersey hold down the bottom of the list with 53%, followed by Hawaii at 54%.
Share and deposit growth
Credit union deposit rates continue to increase, with NCUA reporting a median 1.5% growth rate for shares and deposits as of Sept. 30. That’s 20 basis points over where that figure stood one year prior and 40 basis points over Q2, though the June 30 figure represented an 80 basis point decline from the end of Q2 2018.
For the 12 months ending in September, Idaho and Maine saw the highest median growth in shares and deposits (8.9% and 5.5%, respectively) while New Jersey, Connecticut, Arkansas and North Carolina all saw negative growth rates. Median figures were unchanged in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, while the slowest growth was found in Washington, D.C. (0.2%), and Louisiana and Virginia (0.3%).
A push for additional deposits has been one of the dominant trends of 2019.