What's New in Credit Union ? Newsletter #24

• Credit Unions Make Slow Gains in Consumer Loans

Growth in consumer lending continued to slow for credit unions in November, but they maintained their share as others fared worse.

?Data from the Fed’s G-19 Consumer Credit Report released Monday showed credit unions held $82.6 billion in credit card debt Nov. 30, up 12.8% from a year earlier and the smallest 12-month gain since June 2022.

However, the balance rose 2.4% from October, which was better than the average 1.7% October-to-November gain measured from 2016 through 2022.

That left credit unions with 6.4% of the nation’s $1.3 trillion credit card balance in November, unchanged from October and up from 6.2% in November 2022.

Banks held $1.18 trillion in credit card debt, up 9.9% from a year earlier. The change was 3.4% from October, up from the average 2.5% monthly change. Banks’ share was 90.5% in November, up from 90.4% in October and 90.3% in November 2022.?

• America's Credit Unions Reveal 2024 Priorities

Officials from the newly-formed organization America’s Credit Unions sent a detailed letter to congressional lawmakers and regulatory leaders Tuesday to inform them of the policy priorities they plan to focus on for 2024 and plan to “fiercely” advocate for credit unions.?

The letter, signed by America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle, laid out 12 policy priorities for the year. The priorities included the following:

1. Preserve the credit union tax status.
2. Hold regulators accountable.
3. Reform the CFPB leadership structure.
4. Prevent an unlimited expansion of the NCUA’s authority.
5. Protect the interchange system.
6. Establish federal data protection standards.
7. Ensure a fair regulatory environment.
8. Expand both business and consumer access to credit unions.
9. Lift member business lending caps and regulatory limits.
10. Increase loan maturity limits.
11. Allow new investment options for credit unions.
12. Support innovation and emerging technologies balanced with regulatory oversight

• Global Credit Union Plans Second Largest Bank Acquisition

The $11.8 billion Global Federal Credit Union based in Anchorage, Alaska said on Thursday that it plans to acquire the $1.5 billion First Financial Northwest Bank in Renton, Wash., for $231.2 million in cash.

This is the credit union industry’s second largest credit union-bank purchase deal ever. The largest agreement was announced in 2021 when the $13.4 billion VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., planned to buy the $1.5 billion Heritage Southeast Bank in Jonestown Ga. The deal, however, was called off in 2022.

• ?Merger Deal to Create Third Largest CU in Virginia

Officials with the $5.1 billion Virginia Credit Union, Inc. headquartered in North Chesterfield, Va., and the $1.6 billion Member One Federal Credit Union announced their plans to merge on Thursday. The proposed merger would create the third largest credit union in Virginia, behind the Vienna, Va.-based Navy Federal Credit Union ($168 billion in assets) and the McLean, Va.-based Pentagon Federal Credit Union ($35 billion in assets).

According to the announcement, the merger must be approved by regulators and an affirmative vote by members of the Richmond, Va.-based Member One. If approved, the merged credit union would serve nearly 500,000 members and employ roughly 1,100 people with a network of 37 branches.

• ?Vizo Financial Gives Back $3.8 Million

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union of Greensboro, N.C., gave back more than $3.8 million to member credit unions in December.

The distribution was through a service usage credit and a higher rate on the Perpetual Contributed Capital (PCC) account, which stood at $216.8 million on Nov. 30.

The $3.8 million represents 0.07% of its $5.2 billion in average assets for the 12 months ending Nov. 30, or an average of $6,355 for each of its 598 credit unions. Vizo’s net income was $60.3 million in that period, or 1.15% of average assets, down from 1.48% a year earlier.

• ?The year's first credit union purchase of a bank is a big one

Hudson Valley Credit Union is starting the new year in a big way.

The $6.9 billion-asset credit union has agreed to acquire Catskill Hudson Bank and its parent company Catskill Hudson Bancorp, the companies said in a press release Wednesday. At $593 million of assets, Catskill Hudson Bank is much bigger than any bank acquired by a? credit union last year.

Stockholders of the Monticello, New York-based Catskill Hudson will receive $40.50 in cash for each share of the bank held, which equates to a deal value of approximately $28.6 million.

The merger is expected to be completed during the second half of 2024. It is the first bank acquisition ever announced by Poughkeepsie-based Hudson Valley Credit Union.?

Sources : CU TIMES and American Banker