Key measures of credit union health continued in a positivedirection in August as loans and memberships grew, and delinquencyrates declined, according to a CUNA Mutual Group report releasedMonday.

Credit unions had 108.1 million members at the end of August, up4.2 million members in the past year, including 526,000 new membersfrom July to August. The annual 4% growth rate is the highest incredit union history, according CUNA Mutual’s “CreditUnion Trends Report.”

“Membership growth is being driven by strong job gains andAmericans’ demand for credit,” the report said. Another factordrawing members are higher monthly fees being charged by banks tomake up for Dodd-Frank Act caps on debit card fees.

Meanwhile, only 0.76% of the $860.8 billion in total loans heldby credit unions were two or more months delinquent in August, downfrom a 0.78% delinquency rate a year earlier.

Credit unions carved out a larger share of the overall consumerinstallment credit market, which includes auto loans, credit cardsand unsecured loans. Credit unions held $369.6 billion in consumerinstallment credit in August, accounting for 10% of the U.S.market, up from a 9.5% share a year earlier.

Vehicle loans, the largest portion of installment credit, rose14% to $292.4 billion in August. As a percent of total credit unionloans, car loans accounted for 34%, up from 33% a year ago.

Real estate loans grew at a slower pace, slipping just belowhalf of the value of total credit union loans in August. Firstlien, second mortgages and home equity loans grew 8.5% over 12months to reach $33.5 billion in August.

CUNA Mutual predicts the interest rate for 30-year fixedmortgages to reach 4.26% by the end of 2017.

“However, we don’t expect the interest rate rise to have asignificant negative impact on housing demand due to interest ratesremaining at historically low levels,” the report said. “Demand forhomes is expected to increase in 2017 due to a rising number ofhousehold formations and the tightening labor market boosting wagegrowth.”

Member Business Loans were $65.4 billion in August, up 14.9%from a year ago.