The 85,000-member Altura Credit Union in Riverside, Calif., said this week that it has recorded its ninth-straight quarter of net gain.

Altura said net income for the quarter ending June 30 was $3.47 million on total assets of $704.6 million. Net income for the first half of 2013 was $8.45 million, compared to $11.07 million for the same period in 2012.

Net worth also strengthened in the second quarter, the credit union said, coming in at 10.82%, up from 10.13% in the first quarter and 8.69% in the year-ago period.

The economy in Altura's home area – California's Inland Empire about 60 miles east of Los Angeles – also is slowly improving with unemployment still remaining above national and state rates.

“We had a great second quarter this year, the second best total in our history,” said CEO Mark Hawkins. “Things are on a slow, yet improving, trajectory.”

He said loan loss provisions are at $15.7 million, down from $15.7 million in June 2012, as delinquent loans decline and that month-over-month outstanding loans have increased for the first time in nearly five years, driven primarily by auto loans.

“The market is healing. In fact from a credit quality perspective, you could even say it has healed,” Hawkins said in the credit union's announcement on Thursday.