Credit unions have generated a total of $10.7 billion in noninterest income as of the end of the third quarter in 2012 — the highest reported since 2009 and 18% more than the first nine months of 2011, according to Callahan & Associates.
Callahan also found a 30.3% increase in other operating income from year-to-date numbers in September 2011 to $4.9 billion. Credit unions' other operating income grew from 39.8% in 2010 to 45.8% in third quarter 2012 as a percentage of noninterest income, and two states in particular demonstrated exceptional other operating income growth over the two-year period: Massachusetts, with 60.3%, and Missouri, with 41.3%.
"The fact that other operating income is primarily responsible for the overall increase in noninterest income reflects the cooperative spirit of the credit union industry," said Jay Johnson, executive vice president for Callahan. "Instead of taking extreme cost-cutting measures, credit unions found other ways to return value to the member."
Fee income, primarily derived from overdraft, ATM and credit card fees, rose from $5.1 billion last year to $5.5 billion this year at credit unions, Callahan added. However, as of September 2012, fee income for the average credit union member was at its second-lowest level in the past five years, the Washington-based research and analysis firm said.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
