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Credit union loan growth slowed for the third year in a row despite a surge in mortgage originations, according to CUNA report released Wednesday.
The Madison, Wis., trade group's Monthly Credit Union Estimates found the nation's 5,439 credit unions ended 2019 with $1.14 trillion in total loans, up 6.6% from a year earlier.
Total loan growth peaked at 10.4% to 10.5% from 2014 to 2016, and fell to 8.9% in 2018 and 6.6% last year.
Credit unions ended the year with above-average loan growth for first mortgages, credit cards and unsecured consumer term loans. Credit unions held $479.3 billion in first mortgages as of Dec. 31, up 10.5% from a year earlier, with most of the growth in long-term, fixed-rate mortgages.
Credit cards grew 8.1% to $67.8 billion, while unsecured personal term loans grew 7.1% to $46.9 billion. A Feb. 7 Fed report showed credit unions continued to carve out a slightly larger share of the credit card market through December.
The wave of first mortgage refinancing sucked the oxygen out of home equity and other second-liens, which grew only 4.1% to $93.1 billion.
Automobile lending was the biggest drag, growing only 2.4%. New car loans fell 0.9% to $148.8 billion, while used car loans grew 4.6% to $232.8 billion.
CUNA's estimates show credit unions held $381.6 billion in automobile loans in December, representing 32% of total auto loans estimated by the Fed. Credit unions' share of car lending is unchanged from September, and down from 32.3% in Dec. 2018, the highest share since at least 2014.
Results from the Top 10 credit unions showed a drop in net income for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared with 2018's fourth quarter. It also showed that the spike in mortgage originations continued. A report from Callahan & Associates Friday is expected to show fourth-quarter estimates for the industry as a whole. NCUA's bulk data for all credit unions will follow in early March.
CUNA's Monthly Estimates report also showed credit unions ended the year with 122.5 million members, 3.3% more than a year earlier. The number of credit unions fell 2.9% to 5,439 from 5,469 in November and 5,603 in Dec. 2018.
The CUNA report also showed:
- Fixed-rate first mortgages rose 12.1% to $350.9 billion.
- Adjustable-rate first mortgages rose 6.6% to $128.3 billion.
- Second mortgages rose 6.6% to $35.2 billion.
- Home equity lines of credit rose 2.6% to $57.9 billion.
- Assets grew 7.7% to $1.59 trillion.
- Savings grew 8.2% to $1.34 trillion.
- Capital grew 10.6% to $178.6 billion.
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