Total savings for responding credit unions reached more than $1.1 trillion, according to World Council of Credit Unions' newly released 2009 Statistical Report. That's the highest level since WOCCU first began conducting the survey in 1972, and represents nearly a 15% increase from 2008.

Loans were another indicator demonstrating strong growth over the previous year, climbing to nearly $912 billion from $847 billion in 2008. This sizeable increase is further accentuated in contrast to a slight decrease in loans globally between 2007 and 2008.

In recent years, credit unions worldwide have seen notable growth in assets, membership, savings and other indicators. Cumulative assets reached nearly $1.4 trillion in 2009, up from $1.2 trillion in 2008, and reserves reached nearly $120 billion in 2009, up from slightly more than $115 billion in 2008.

Annual survey respondents represented 97 countries worldwide, and reported that 49,330 credit unions served nearly 184 million members in 2008.

WOCCU has collected annual statistics on the international credit union movement for the past 37 years to produce its annual Statistical Report, and data is based solely on the number of countries responding to the survey. The only source for such data on the global credit union movement, it is widely cited by governments, international institutions and analysts.

To download a free copy of the report, visit www.woccu.org/publications.