WASHINGTON -- After a glimmer of hope in September, credit union savings growth at this point is not getting any better, according to CUNA's latest data.
"The surge in savings growth we saw in September was not repeated in October," CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel said. "Savings slinked back again into negative territory in October, so we are once again on track to have 2006 be the weakest year for savings inflows into credit unions since World War II."
CUNA's Monthly Credit Union Estimates showed credit union savings dropping 0.3% in October dragging year-to-date savings growth down to 2.9% from 3.3% for the same period last year. CDs were up 2.2% followed by individual retirement accounts at 1.0% and money markets up 0.5%. However, share drafts fell 4.2% and regular shares were down 1.7% for the month.
With the outstanding loan amounts up 0.5% in October, the loan-to-share ratio was bolstered to 83.2%, the highest it has been since 1979, Hampel noted. Loan growth is slowing from last year's pace; current year-to-date growth stands at 7.6%, down from 9.5% at the same time last year. Credit cards rose 3.5% for the month. Other mortgages remained strong at 2.0% growth and fixed-rate first mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages were also up 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively.
The average capital-to-asset ratio increased from 11.3% in September to 11.5% in October. At the same time, asset quality remained strong with delinquencies holding steady at 0.6% for the month.
