The first quarter of 2013 was good for the credit union industry in Michigan and Minnesota, those states' leagues said this week.

Following in the wake of the NCUA's release of nationwide figures, the Lansing-based Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates said Wednesday that member in Michigan has grown for seven straight quarters to its highest level yet.

There now are 4.56 million credit union members in Michigan, up 15,776 from fourth-quarter 2012, and 46% of the state's residents are credit union members, 16 percentage points higher than the national rate, the league said.

The league also said that checking account balances have grown more than 50% in the past four years, now exceeding $2 billion, and that the state's credit unions also financed more than $1 billion in home loans in the first three months of 2013, up from $882 million from the same period in 2012.

“The boom in student loans is impacting Michigan credit unions as total loans reached $100 million for the first time, with growth of 5.4% in the first quarter,” the league also said in its announcement.

Meanwhile, Minnesota credit unions grew their assets by 3.2% in the first quarter from the final quarter of 2012, and 7.3% year-over-year, according to the Minnesota Credit Union Network in St. Paul.

The network also said that deposit growth was 3.5% from the fourth quarter and 7.7% from the year-ago quarter and that loan growth dropped 0.5% from the final quarter of 2012 but was up 3.3% between Q1 2012 and Q1 2013.

“Consumers and businesses are choosing not-for-profit, locally governed credit unions as their primary financial institution – much the same as they are choosing local restaurants and food co-ops, local businesses, and other community-focused options,” the MnCUN said in its announcement.