CUNA estimated that total loans grew 17.8% to $1.47 trillion from a year ago. The July-to-August gain was 1.9%, compared with an average August gain of 1% from August 2015 through August 2021. Loans per member were $10,887, up 14.3% from a year ago, and rose 1.6% from the previous month.

Credit unions have been ticking up auto loan rates since January. The average rate for a 48-month loan on a new car rose from a low of 3.13% in January to 3.75% in August.

But auto balances still grew.

New car loans grew 19.8% to $171.5 billion from a year ago, and rose 2.8% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 1%.

Used car loans grew 17.8% to $303.3 billion from a year ago, and rose 1.4% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 0.9%.

Some other measures showed trouble.

CUNA revised delinquency rates upward from April through July. It previously reported the 60-day-plus delinquency rate for July was 0.45%, but now it appears as 0.50% — its highest mark since 0.52% in February 2021. The delinquency rate was 0.64% in February 2020, the month before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. It rose to a pandemic high of 0.67% in April 2020, but fell to a low of 0.45% by March 2021.

The new report showed August's delinquency rate was 0.49%, up from 0.45% a year earlier but slightly lower than the revised 0.50% for July 2022.

Surplus funds (or cash plus investments) were $634.2 billion on Aug. 31 — the lowest level since January 2021. August's surplus funds fell 12% from a year ago, and fell 4.8% from the previous month. The liquidity ratio (the ratio of surplus funds maturing in less than one year to borrowings plus other liabilities) fell from 14.8% in July to 13.5% in August.

Savings stood at $1.88 trillion on Aug. 31, up 6.6% from a year ago, but down 0.2% from the previous month. One-year certificates led savings growth during the month rising 2.9%. On the decline were money market accounts, falling 0.7%, followed by drops of 0.8% for share drafts and 0.9% for regular shares.

Savings per member were $13,983, up 3.4% from a year ago and down 0.5% from the previous month.

The Fed showed credit cards grew 13.3% to $69.8 billion from a year ago, and rose 1.2% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 1%.

Credit unions' share of credit card debt was 6.2% in August 2022, down from 6.3% in July and 6.4% in August 2021.

Of course, the reason for lost share was that as well as credit unions did, banks did even better.

Banks held $1.02 trillion in credit card debt on Aug. 31, up 17% from a year earlier and up 2% from July. Banks' share rose to 91.0% in August from 90.9% in July and 90.1% in August 2021.

CUNA tracked the results of 5,029 credit unions with 134.6 million members, up 3.1% from a year ago and a rise of 0.3% from the previous month. Its report also showed:

• Unsecured consumer term loans (excluding credit cards) grew 20.2% to $62.1 billion from a year ago, and rose 2.7% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 1.2%.
• First-lien mortgages fell 1.5% to $548.1 billion from a year ago, but rose 1.1% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 0.9%. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Sept. 19 forecast expected first-mortgage balances nationally would be $13.21 trillion on Sept. 30, up 7.6% from a year earlier and up 1.7% from June 30.
• CUNA showed home equity lines of credit and other second-lien mortgages grew 14.3% to $96.7 billion from a year ago, and rose 3.5% from the previous month, compared with an average August gain of 0.7%.