Total savings at credit unions were down by $1.8 billion in January, including a continued drop in certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.
That’s according to the March issue of CUNA Mutual Group’s Credit Union Trends Report, which tracked data through January. Working off December’s five payroll Fridays, share drafts declined 2.4% in January. Annual savings growth peaked at 10.7% in October 2009 and has now fallen to 4.4%.
“Current deposit yields give members little incentive to save and the recent run-up in energy costs will likely dampen any near-term gains,” according to Dave Colby, chief economist at CUNA Mutual.
CDs fell $10.8 billion (4.7%) over the last year with one-year yields now averaging 1.17% or just 59 basis points above money market yields.
Meanwhile, total asset growth is also trending lower, fueled by lower deposit growth and reduced levels of credit union borrowing, according to the report. At $932 billion, total assets are up 3.5% over the past year. Detailed year-end data showed 2,437 credit unions reported asset declines in 2010, including 44 credit unions with assets in excess of $1 billion.
