Fox Communities Credit Union of Appleton, Wis., was ranked as the nation's best performing credit union in 2017 by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The credit union's acquisitions of two smaller Green Bay, Wis., credit unions last year accounted for most of its gains in growth metrics used in S&P's annual Top 50 performance rankings.

Idaho Central CU of Chubbuck, Idaho, ranked No. 2 after being in the top slot for the previous five years, and Technology Credit Union of San Jose, Calif., ranked No. 3, rising from No. 52 in 2016, according to S&P's March 28 news release.

Fox Communities' rise came after it merged with Horizon Community CU in early 2017 and Harbor CU in mid-2017. About 94% of its membership gain and 58% of its asset gain came from the mergers.

Fox Communities CU ($1.5 billion in assets, 100,113 members) had 17.6% growth in membership and 21.4% growth in market (member shares plus nonmember deposits) —two of the four metrics used in the rankings. Among the Top 50, median growth was 10% for membership and 11% for market.

On the two metrics for loan performance, Fox Communities CU also ranked higher than most other Top 50 credit unions. It had a net charge-off ratio of 0.07%, compared with a median of 0.25%. Its loans at least 60 days late were 0.18% of total loans, compared with the median delinquency rate of 0.29%.

The final metric of operating efficiency showed Fox Communities CU's operating expenses were 68% of operating revenue, comparing slightly unfavorably to the median of 65%.

Idaho Central CU ($3.5 billion in assets, 298,350 members) continued posting higher-than-median member and market growth in 2017. “Credit quality at the company did deteriorate slightly in 2017 as net charge-offs to average loans doubled year over year to 0.24% and loan delinquency hit 0.40%,” according to S&P's report.

Tech CU ($2.5 billion in assets, 95,313 members) rose with membership growth and high loan quality. Membership grew 19.6%, market expanded 8.2% and its operating efficiency was 63%. Tech CU actually had a negative charge-off ratio of -0.02% as recoveries slightly exceeded charge-offs for the year. Its delinquency rate was 0.16%.

Todd Harris, Tech CU's president/CEO, on Tuesday congratulated his employees for the honor.

“This recognition is a testament to our team's hard work and strategic decisions made over the past several years,” Harris said. “2017 was one of the most successful, if not the most productive year in our credit union's history. Assets ended the year at nearly $2.5 billion, while our membership grew year-over-year by more than 15,000.”

The next seven in the S&P rankings were:

Superior CU, Lima, Ohio ($820.7 million in assets, 78,949 members)
Redwood CU, Santa Rosa, Calif. ($4 billion in assets, 247,946 members)
Eastman CU, Kingsport, Tenn. ($4 billion in assets, 202,631 members)
Star One CU, Sunnyvale, Calif. ($9 billion in assets, 101,752 members)
University of Iowa Community CU, North Liberty, Iowa ($4.7 billion in assets, 170,715 members)
Stanford FCU, Palo Alto, Calif. ($2.4 billion in assets, 65,957 members)
Texas Trust CU, Mansfield, Texas ($1.2 billion in assets, 114,083 members)

Instant Insights /

S&P Ranks Fox Communities CU as 2017's Best Performer

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