As the Fed raised interest rates loan growth slowed.

Seasonal factors contributed to May’s slight improvement. The balance of total loans grew 0.5% from April, compared with the average April-to-May gain of 0.6% from 2015 through 2024.

Mortgage growth overall from April was on par with the 10-year average, with consumer loan growth slightly below average.

First mortgages grew 0.9% from a year earlier, low but still better than the 0.1% gain in November 2024, which was the smallest gain the

Equifax-based data set provided by AmCU, which goes back to July 2005. The first mortgage balance at May 31 was also up 0.2% from April, compared with the 10-year average up 0.4%.

Auto loans, which account for about a third of the balance sheet, continued to fall in May, but at a slightly slower rate. Auto loans at May 31 were down 0.8% from a year earlier and up 0.5% from April, compared with the 10-year average gain of 0.7%.

Last November and December auto loans were down 2.5% from their year-ago levels, which was the worst since 2010 when Americans were climbing out of the Great Recession.

The AmCU report also showed changes for other balances as of May 31:

• Second mortgages rose 7% from a year earlier and up 0.6% from April, compared with the 10-year average gain of 0.8%.
• HELOCs rose 17% from a year earlier and 2% from April, compared with the 10-year average gain of 1%.
• Secured personal loans fell 2.5% from a year earlier and rose 0.4% from April, compared with the 10-year average gain of 1.2%.
• Unsecured personal loans rose 4.9% from a year earlier and 0.3% from April, compared with the 10-year average gain of 0.7%.

For credit cards, the Fed’s G-19 Consumer Credit Report released Tuesday showed credit unions held $85.1 billion in credit card debt on May 31, up 3.9% from a year earlier. The gain from April was 0.6%, compared with the 10-year average gain of 1.3%.

Contact Jim DuPlessis at [email protected].