One factor was a previously reported $65.3 million fourth-quarter loss by the nation's third-largest credit union: Pentagon Federal Credit Union of Tysons, Va. It was the only loss among the group and cut 6 basis points from the group's fourth-quarter income.

Provisions for loan losses were the largest factor in the drop. The 10 credit unions provisioned $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter, or an annualized 1.52% of average assets, worsening by 73 bps from a year earlier and 37 bps from the third quarter.

They ratcheted up provisions as their 60-day-plus delinquency rate rose to 1.34% from 1.07% a year earlier and 1.21% from the third quarter.

The group charged off $1.3 billion in loans in the fourth quarter. The fourth-quarter's 1.84% net charge-off rate was up from 0.88% from a year earlier and 1.33% in the third quarter.

Net revenue offset the provisions somewhat as non-interest income rose and net interest held steady. Net revenue was $5 billion, 4.87% of average assets — a gain of 12 bps from a year earlier and 35 bps from the third quarter.

The Top 10's net interest margin was 3.62% in the fourth quarter, down 8 bps from a year earlier and down 1 bps from the third quarter.

Employee pay and other overhead boosted income by 9 bps from a year earlier and 15 bps from the third quarter.

The Top 10 had the equivalent of 52,479 full-time jobs on Dec. 31, up by 903 from a year earlier and up by 28 from September.

The largest full-time employee cuts in the 12 months ending Dec. 31 were 340 by PenFed and 179 by State Employees' Credit Union of Raleigh, N.C. The largest cuts from September to December were 122 by Golden 1 Credit Union of Sacramento, Calif., and 61 by PenFed.

Originations continued to wane. The Top 10 produced $28.3 billion in loans in the three months ending Dec. 31, down 12% from both a year earlier and from the third quarter. Most segments showed declines:

• First-mortgage originations were $4.9 billion, down 21% from a year earlier and down 32% from the third quarter.
• Originations of home equity lines of credit and other second liens were $2.4 billion, up 11% from a year earlier and down 4.1% from the third quarter.
• Commercial loan production was $643.9 million, down 18% from a year earlier and up 44% from the third quarter.
• Other consumer loans — which includes credit cards, personal loans and car loans — were $20.3 billion, down 11% from a year earlier and down 7.4% from the third quarter.

The group's loan-to-share ratio was 85.4% as of Dec. 31, up from 80.9% a year earlier and 84.5% at the end of September. Shares and deposits were up 4.4% from a year earlier and 0.1% from the third quarter. Loans rose 10% from a year earlier and 1.2% from September.

Borrowings for all credit unions have been rising since the end of 2021, when they were 2.1% of assets, to 5.8% of assets in September 2023. For the Top 10, borrowings grew from 5.6% of assets in September to 6.4% in December.

The Top 10 encompassed $414.7 billion in assets and 27.5 million members at the end of 2023. The group accounted for more than 18% of the credit union movement's assets and members in September.

CU Times tracks their results because they provide an early indicator of changes in the most recent three-month period for credit unions.

The Top 10 consisted of the same credit unions in the same asset order as the third quarter. ROA and originations for the Top 10 credit unions in the fourth quarter were:

1. Navy Federal Credit Union of Vienna, Va. ($170.8 billion, 13.3 million members) had ROA of 0.32% in the fourth quarter, compared with 1.41% a year earlier and 0.59% in the third quarter. Originations were $14.3 billion, up 13.2% from a year earlier and down 12.3% from the third quarter.

2. State Employees' Credit Union of Raleigh, N.C. ($54.6 billion, 2.8 million members) had ROA of 0.25% in the fourth quarter, compared with 1.26% a year earlier and 0.69% in the third quarter. Originations were $2.2 billion, down 17% from a year earlier and down 17.1% from the third quarter.

3. Pentagon Federal Credit Union of Tysons, Va. ($34.8 billion, 2.9 million members) had ROA of -0.74% in the fourth quarter, compared with 0.4% a year earlier and 0.57% in the third quarter. Originations were $1.4 billion, down 15.4% from a year earlier and down 18% from the third quarter.

4. BECU of Tukwila, Wash., near Seattle ($29.9 billion, 1.5 million members) had ROA of 1.19% in the fourth quarter, compared with 1.31% a year earlier and 0.24% in the third quarter. Originations were $1.5 billion, down 57.9% from a year earlier and down 42.4% from the third quarter.

5. SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union of Santa Ana, Calif. ($29.2 billion, 1.4 million members) had ROA of 0.6% in the fourth quarter, compared with 0.95% a year earlier and 0.6% in the third quarter. Originations were $1.5 billion, down 17.5% from a year earlier and down 14.4% from the third quarter.

6. Golden 1 Credit Union of Sacramento, Calif. ($21.1 billion, 1.1 million members) had ROA of 1.07% in the fourth quarter, compared with 0.71% a year earlier and 0.55% in the third quarter. Originations were $1.3 billion, down 24.7% from a year earlier and down 0.2% from the third quarter.

7. America First Federal Credit Union of Riverdale, Utah ($19.3 billion, 1.4 million members) had ROA of 1.31% in the fourth quarter, compared with 2.04% a year earlier and 1.25% in the third quarter. Originations were $3 billion, down 22.2% from a year earlier and up 79.7% from the third quarter.

8. Alliant Credit Union of Chicago ($18.5 billion, 839,296 members) had ROA of 0.48% in the fourth quarter, compared with 0.68% a year earlier and 0.58% in the third quarter. Originations were $828.5 million, down 30.5% from a year earlier and down 44.3% from the third quarter.

9. Mountain America Federal Credit Union of Salt Lake City ($18.4 billion, 1.2 million members) had ROA of 0.76% in the fourth quarter, compared with 1.16% a year earlier and 1.13% in the third quarter. Originations were $1.2 billion, down 9% from a year earlier and down 15% from the third quarter.

10. Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union of San Antonio ($18 billion, 1.1 million members) had ROA of 1.68% in the fourth quarter, compared with 1.32% a year earlier and 0.97% in the third quarter. Originations were $908.5 million, down 33.3% from a year earlier and down 8.8% from the third quarter.