
Credit union financial reports for the first quarter were solid, with Idaho ranking first in the nation for asset growth at 6.2%.
Lynn Heider, vice president of public relations for the Northwest Credit Union Association, which represents Idaho credit unions, attributed the strong performance to the strategic leadership provided by staff and boards.
“This performance is also in alignment with their growing popularity with consumers,” she said. “With nearly 60% of the population having chosen not-for-profit, cooperative credit unions as their financial services partners, credit unions are seeing asset, deposit and membership growth, and increasing demand for loans.”
Nationally, median asset growth over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019 was 1.6%, according to the National Credit Union Association (NCUA). In the year ending in the first quarter of 2018, the median growth rate in assets was 2.2%.
In other metrics, Idaho grew 5.1% for median annual share and deposit growth – third highest nationwide – and 1.7% in membership growth, Heider said.
Nationally, median growth in shares and deposits over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019 was 1.1%, the NCUA said. In the year ending in the first quarter of 2018, median growth rate in shares and deposits was 2.1%.
Nationally, median growth in membership over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019 was 0.2%, with membership dropping in 14 states – typically in credit unions with less than $50 million in assets, the NCUA said. In comparison, in the year ending in the first quarter of 2018, membership was unchanged at the median. Idaho ranked 7th nationwide with this benchmark.
Median annual loan growth in Idaho was 6.4%, Heider said. This ranked Idaho at 21, compared with 5.8% nationwide.
Nationally, the median growth rate in loans outstanding was 5.8% over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019. The median loan growth rate during the previous year was 5.0%. Over the year ending in the first quarter of 2019, median loan growth was positive in every state. Median loan growth was strongest in Missouri with 9.6%, followed by Minnesota with 9.2%.
Idaho also ranked second in loans-to-shares ratio at 87%, after Vermont with 88%. This means it took in a larger amount of loans rather than deposits, compared with credit unions in other states. While an increased number of loans help support the community, the larger number also means the credit union is taking on higher risk. Generally, the loan-to-share ratio nationwide has been increasing due to the continued confidence in the economy, according to creditunions.com.
Nationally, the median loans-to-shares ratio was 68% at the end of the first quarter of 2019, according to the NCUA. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, the median loans-to-shares ratio was 64%.
Idaho’s median total delinquency rate was 53 basis points, which ranked Idaho No. 24 nationwide. The median total delinquency rate nationwide was 54. The median return on average assets (ROAA) year to date – the net income divided by average gross total assets, which measures the credit union’s bottom line – was 68 basis points for Idaho, ranking it 14, compared with 56 basis points nationwide.
Altogether, 96% of Idaho’s federally insured credit unions had a positive net income year to date, which ranked Idaho eighth nationally. Nationwide, the figure was 86%.
Other Northwest credit unions also scored well, with Oregon beating Idaho in the categories of median annual loan growth, median delinquency rate and ROAA, and Washington beating Idaho in year-over-year membership growth, as well as median annual loan growth, median delinquency rate and ROAA.
Idaho credit unions have consistently ranked highly for several quarters. In the second quarter of 2018, Idaho scored highest in the nation in median annual asset growth, with 6.3%, and second in the nation only to Maine in median annual share and deposit growth with 5.3%.