NCUA Q4 CU system performance data: Federally insured CUs add 4 million members

NCUA’s latest Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary provides an overview of the financial performance of federally insured credit unions based on information reported by credit unions in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Data for federally insured credit unions show that, as of Dec. 31, 2020, federally insured credit unions added 4 million members over the year and credit union membership in these institutions reached 124.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. There were 5,099 federally insured credit unions, a decline from 5,236 a year earlier, consistent with long-running industry consolidation trends, according to the report.

Total assets in federally insured credit unions rose by $278 billion (17.7%) over the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2020, to $1.84 trillion, according to the report.

The number of credit unions with a low-income designation rose to 2,642 in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 2,605 one year earlier.

Additional highlights from the report show:

Total loans outstanding increased $55 billion, or 4.9%, over the year to $1.16 trillion.
The delinquency rate at federally insured credit unions was 60 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2020, down 10 basis points from one year earlier. The net charge-off ratio was 45 basis points, down from 56 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Insured shares and deposits rose $242 billion, or 19.8%, over the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2020, to $1.47 trillion.
The loan-to-share ratio stood at 73.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from 84.0% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The credit union system’s net worth ratio was 10.32% in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with 11.37% one year earlier.
Net income totaled $12 billion at an annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2020, down $2.1 billion, or 14.9%, from the same period a year ago.
The net interest margin for federally insured credit unions was $48.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, or 2.82% of average assets. That compares with $47.8 billion, or 3.16% of average assets, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The return on average assets for federally insured credit unions was 70 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from 93 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The median return on average assets across all federally insured credit unions was 40 basis points, down 20 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2019.

To view the full data summary, visit the NCUA website.