Things to look out for in Credit Unions this week !

During the volatile period of Community FIs, what is the landscape ? Bringing the latest updates for this week.

1.Credit Union Earnings Fell Sharply in Q1: Callahan & Associates, Inc.

• “Deposit growth at credit unions falls despite uptick in personal savings rate” – lowest to just 2.2 % (almost record low)
• The side of the wheel is definitely not doing good either as a ripple effect of deposits - “1Q loan originations decline at fastest pace on record” – from + 5.9 % to – 29.5 %
• Net Charge-offs Ratio rise by + 0.51 % : with Credit Card and Auto driving this trend

2. Ratings Firm Claims as Many As 4,200 FIs, Including CUs, could be ‘Vulnerable to Failure’

An independent ratings agency has issued a statement warning that as many as 4,243 financial institutions, including credit unions, “could be vulnerable to failure. ”Weiss Ratings said that of the financial institutions in the U.S., 1,210 institutions (or 12.8%) got a “red warning flag,” which it said signaled risk of imminent failure, while 3,043 received a yellow warning flag, indicating risk of failure in a financial crisis or recession.

3. CU Tax Exemption Allows CUs to Serve Areas Banks Do Not, NAFCU (National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions) Tells Congress

The credit union tax exemption allows CUs “to reach out in areas banks couldn’t and serve those that banks wouldn’t,” according to a?letter?sent by NAFCU to Congress.?

4. Credit unions need liquidity flexibility, bank parity

Credit Union National Association wrote the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee in support of the credit union position on third party vendor authority, privately insured credit unions, deposit insurance reform, and the Central Liquidity Facility. With more than 91% of credit union deposits insured, credit unions remain stable, safe, and secure during this time of uncertainty in the banking sector.

5. NAFCU Chief Economist on CNBC : Consumer spending is enough to prevent a recession

NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long appeared on CNBC to discuss how consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of the economy and if that remains high, a recession may not materialize.“Consumer spending represents more than half of the economy,” said Long. “So if consumer spending is strong, that alone is, generally speaking, enough to keep the economy from slipping into a recession.”

6. First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union Credit Union could merge with a Berks County credit union next year, company

First Commonwealth Credit Union, based in Upper Macungie Township, announced this week that it will acquire the Berks County-based credit union Bellco Credit Union pending approval from the NCUA, and Bellco’s membership. The merger is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

7. Northwest Community CU Members Approve Merger with TwinStar CU

Northwest Community Credit Union, a division of TwinStar Credit Union (NWCU) in Eugene, Ore., said Tuesday its proposed merger with TwinStar Credit Union in Lacy, Wash., was approved by a vast majority of NCCU’s membership. The combined organization will manage $4.1 billion in assets and serve more than 252,000 members across Oregon and Washington.

Courtesy : Credit Union Times , CUInsight.com , Credit Union National Association , CUtoday , Lehigh live, ?