Press
Iowa Credit Unions finish strong in final quarter of 2014
DES MOINES, IA (March 20, 2015) — Iowa’s 107 credit unions continued their upward trend in 2014, finishing the year with increases in lending and membership.
Fourth quarter overall loan growth was 1.9 percent, bringing the 2014 increase to 12.1 percent. New vehicle loans were up 4 percent in the quarter and 20.9 percent for the year. Used vehicle loans increased 2.9 percent in the quarter, contributing to an annual increase of 15.9 percent over 2013.
There were also gains in the loan portfolios for first mortgage loans, which were up 9.0 percent for the year. Unsecured personal loans were up 7.9 percent and credit cards increased 9.2 percent. Member business lending was up 23.1 percent for the year and second mortgages declined by 34.6 percent in 2014.
“Clearly, the numbers point to strong demand for vehicle loans and other types of consumer credit,” said Patrick S. Jury, President/CEO of the Iowa Credit Union League. “With growing confidence about job stability and higher household income, credit union members are spending money again. This is showing up in higher loan growth and subdued growth in savings accounts.”
Iowa consumers clearly recognize the benefit of credit unions, with total memberships at the state’s credit unions growing by 2.2 percent for the full year of 2014. There are more than 1 million credit union memberships in Iowa.
Other key Iowa credit union findings from the Callahan & Associates Quarterly Performance Summary Report include:
Total loans increased 12.1 percent to $9.2B, compared with a 10.4 percent increase to 720.8B nationwide.
Experienced 6.8 percent growth in share and deposits to $10.9B. Nationally, share and deposit accounts at credit unions grew 4.5 percent to $963.1B.
Total assets stand at $12.8B. This is an 8.6 percent increase over December 2013. Nationally, federally insured credit unions’ total assets stand at $1.1T. This is a 5.7 percent increase over fourth quarter 2013.
The ROA for fourth quarter 2014 stands at 1.03 percent. This reflects a 2 basis points decrease from the fourth quarter of 2013.
Originated $3.2B in consumer loans in 2014, up $784.7M from 2013. The 32 percent growth is well above the national average of 14.2 percent. Iowa credit unions originated $1.4B in first mortgages; this is a 22.7 percent decline from December 2013 activity. Although first mortgage originations were down, outstanding mortgage balances rose 9 percent to $3.8B as Iowa credit unions are selling a smaller portion of mortgage loans on the secondary market.
Iowa credit unions have a net charge-off ratio of .39 percent. This rate is well below the national credit union average of .49 percent. Delinquency dropped 7 basis points to .97 percent.
The average net interest margin (the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest paid on deposits) increased 6 basis points from December 31, 2013 to reach 3.03 percent through fourth quarter of 2014.This is 18 basis points higher than the national average of 2.85 percent.
Membership increased 2.2 percent to 1,037,992, adding 22,705 members in the last 12 months. This is nearly double the number of additional members Iowa credit unions brought in during 2013. Nationally, membership in federally insured credit unions grew 3.1 percent to more than 100M. While Iowa’s growth is slower than the national average, one reason is a continued focus on efficiency and the purging of dormant accounts.
Eight Iowa credit unions merged in 2014. Nationally, 285 credit unions have merged and/or dissolved over the same time period. Nationally, there are 6,402 credit unions and of those, 107 are domiciled in Iowa as of December 31, 2014.
About the Iowa Credit Union League
The Iowa Credit Union League is the trade association that represents the interests of Iowa’s credit unions and their more than one million members. Credit unions are not-for-profit, financial cooperatives owned and operated by their members. Iowans use their credit union membership to receive higher interest rates on savings and lower interest rates on loans. For more information on ICUL and Iowa credit unions, visit www.IowaCreditUnions.com. Follow ICUL on Twitter at www.twitter.com/icul or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/iowacreditunions. To learn more about credit unions, visit www.ASmarterChoice.org.