Fed data showed banks increased their credit card balances more than twice as much as credit unions in the 12 months ending March 31, but the data also suggested credit unions showed their first gain in more than two years in auto loans.
Quarterly data from the Fed's G-19 Consumer Credit Report released Thursday showed the balance of all U.S. auto loans rose 0.4% to $1.56 trillion on March 31, the strongest 12-month gain since the fourth quarter of 2024.
Callahan's Peer Suite had processed 4,306 Call Reports as of Friday morning, which it estimated represented close to 99% of credit union assets. Assuming the same sample ratio for auto loans, it appeared credit union auto loans grew around 1% in the 12 months ending March 31, which would represent the first 12-month gain since the fourth quarter of 2023 based on NCUA quarterly Call Reports.
Credit union auto loans stood at $503.0 billion in December 2023, representing 31.4% of total loans shown by the Fed. By December 2025, the balance had fallen to $484.4 billion, or 31.0% of total auto loans.
The G-19 showed credit unions held $85.6 billion in credit card debt March 31, up 1.5% from a year earlier. The balance fell 1.03% from February to March, compared with the average February-to-March drop of 0.1% from 2016 through 2025. Credit unions' share was 6.7% in March, down from 6.8% in both February this year and March 2025.
Banks held $1.2 trillion in credit card debt in March, up 3.9% from a year earlier. The gain was 0.3% from February to March, compared with the 10-year average drop of 0.5%. Banks' share was 92.1% in March, up from 92.0% in February and 91.8% in March 2025.
Finance companies held $15.2 billion in credit card debt, down 9.8% from a year earlier. The drop was 2.1% from February to March, much larger than their 10-year average drop of 1.7%.
The G-19 also reports on "non-revolving" consumer debt – essentially everything consumer but credit cards and HELOCs. For credit unions, auto loans account for more than three quarters of the amount. Other categories are boat loans, personal loans and student loans.
Credit unions held $631.8 billion in non-revolving debt on March 31, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. The balance fell 0.2% from February to March, compared with a 10-year average gain of 1.4%.
Banks held $851.6 billion in non-revolving consumer debt on March 31, up 4.3% from a year earlier and up 0.9% from the previous month, which was stronger than the 10-year average monthly gain of 0.1%.
Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.
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