Income up for credit unions
State institutions solid in 2015
Wisconsin’s credit union industry is off to a strong start in 2015, with net income up almost 22% in the first quarter.
A report released by the state Department of Financial Institutions on Wednesday said net income in the industry totaled $68.5 million in the period, up from $56.3 million in the first quarter a year earlier.
At the same time, delinquent loans on the books of the state’s credit unions decreased, representing only 0.79% of total loans. During the first quarter of last year, 0.98% of loans were in arrears.
Data for the national regulator of credit unions, the National Credit Union Adminis-
tration, shows nine of the 10 largest credit unions based in Wisconsin posted higher net income than in last year’s first quarter.
“State-chartered credit unions had a very solid start to 2015,” Ray Allen, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, said in a statement. “Many of the key indicators by which credit unions measure suc- cess are in very good shape.”
Total loans by the 156 statechartered credit unions amounted to $20.4 billion, compared with $18.5 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
“State-chartered credit unions are doing an excellent job of maintaining the quality of their loan portfolios,” said Kim Santos, director of the state Office of Credit Unions. “The delinquent loan ratio is at a historically low level.”
Credit unions provide many of the same services as banks, but they are not-forprofit cooperatives owned by their members instead of stockholders.
New Berlin-based Landmark Credit Union remained Wisconsin’s biggest credit union, with assets of $2.7 billion. Its earnings were up about 68% for the quarter.
The only top 10 credit union with lower earnings than in last year’s first quarter was Connexus, which merged last fall with Endura Financial Federal Credit Union of Minneapolis and recorded higher expenses.
The number of state-chartered credit unions was down from 160 at the end of 2014.
The credit union industry has been consolidating, typically with smaller institutions merging into larger ones that can offer more banking services to members.