ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Credit unions' improved management of their credit card portfolios has started showing up in the latest statistics, according to analysis performed by card brokerage firms.
Asset Exchange, a leading card broker headquartered in Portland, Ore., reported that its analysis of NCUA's third quarter data shows that 60% of CU card portfolios grew faster than inflation, compared to 51% that did so last year. Credit unions' total card assets moved as well, from $22 billion in September 2005 to $24.2 billion in September 2006, a 7.8% increase in inflation-adjusted dollars, the broker said.
The average balance per CU credit card account is about $2,100 the broker added.
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Further, card assets as a percentage of total CU assets also increased, from 4.09% in the third quarter of last year to 4.34% in the same period of this year.
Asset Exchange reported that the one statistic that continued to lag was card penetration, which dropped from 18.1% to 18%. Card penetration usually lags the addition of new members since most new members do not take out credit cards immediately.
Asset Exchange also reported that 19 CUs sold their card portfolios in the third quarter, a figure with which Brookwood Capital, another card broker headquartered in Peterborough, N.H., agreed. According to Brookwood, 46 CU card portfolio sales have shown up in NCUA's data. Other sales made this year may still not have been reported on the call reports. Brookwood noted that this pace is slightly below that of last year's when 65 CU card portfolios sold.
Brookwood welcomed the improved card performance statistics, interpreting them to mean that CUs are paying more attention to their card portfolios.
"Whether they keep them or sell them," said Tim Kolk, managing partner for Brookwood, "the better numbers mean that credit unions are focusing on their card portfolios and that can only be a good thing." –[email protected]
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