iStock illustration

While most Massachusetts credit unions had positive net income in 2020, the state’s credit union membership declined at one of the highest rates in the U.S., according to data released last week by the National Credit Union Administration.

The NCUA Quarterly Map Review showed that 80 percent of Massachusetts credit unions had positive net income in 2020, slightly below the U.S. average of 83 percent. In 2019, 87 percent of the state’s credit unions had positive net income compared to 89 percent nationwide.

The New England state with the lowest share of credit unions with positive net income was Connecticut at 70 percent. Only Kansas ranked lower with 69 percent. New Mexico and Washington had the highest share of credit unions with positive net income in 2020 with 98 percent.

Membership declined at a majority of Massachusetts credit unions in 2020 compared to 2019. The state’s median membership growth rate was -1.4 percent, meaning that half of the state’s approximately 150 credit unions saw membership decline by 1.4 percent or more. Only New Jersey with a median growth rate of -2.4 percent saw membership decline more.

The NCUA said 56 percent of U.S. federally insured credit unions had fewer members at the end of 2020 compared to 2019. The U.S. credit unions with falling membership tended to be small, the NCUA said, with 65 percent having less than $50 million in assets. The national median growth rate was -0.5 percent. Credit unions headquartered in Alaska and Idaho had the highest median membership growth rates of 3.7 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Massachusetts credit unions had a median year-over-year asset growth of 12.1 percent compared to 2.2 percent at the end of 2019. The national median in 2020 was 14.2 percent compared to 2.8 percent at the end of 2019.

The state trailed the U.S. median for annualized year-to-date return on average assets in 2020. Massachusetts was among the bottom five with a median of 23 basis points compared to the U.S. median of 40 basis points. The state was also near the bottom in 2019, with a median annualized year-to-date ROAA of 46 basis points compared to the U.S median of 60 basis points.

Like banks, credit unions have seen deposits surge during the pandemic. The median year-over-year deposit growth was 15.1 percent in Massachusetts, meaning half the credit unions saw growth at that rate or higher. The U.S. median deposit growth was 15.9 percent. Massachusetts in 2019 saw year-over-year deposit growth of 2.2 percent, while the U.S. median that year was 2.6 percent.

Loans declined at most of the state’s credit unions in 2020, with Massachusetts median year-over-year loan growth rate at -3.2 percent. The U.S. median in 2020 was -0.9 percent. The state did have a lower median delinquency rate of 44 basis points compared to the U.S. median in 2020 of 51 basis points.

Membership Declined at Most Mass. Credit Unions Last Year

by Diane McLaughlin time to read: 2 min
0