As the fiscal year comes to a close, it presents a golden opportunity for your credit union to thoroughly assess not only the current direction of the organization but also its overall well-being and solidity.
However, achieving significant and impactful change goes beyond a superficial overview of your performance. To truly transform and enhance your credit union, it is essential to delve deep into the metrics that provide a comprehensive understanding of your current standing and the potential for improvement.
While each credit union has its own distinct characteristics, it is crucial for you to stay informed about the overall performance of the credit union industry as a whole.
All information can be found in the NCUA quarterly credit union report here.
The higher a credit union's loan to asset ratio, the more it is considered to be "leveraged." A company that is highly leveraged is seen to be more at risk of missing debt payments, for example--particularly if their overall revenue starts to decline.
If a credit union's loan to asset ratio is extremely low, they are missing out on potential income.
If your credit union can...
You have a solid loan-to-asset ratio. You'll also want to compare your own ratio to other credit unions with a similar size and scale to your own.
After you divide your credit union's net income by its total assets to determine your return on assets, you can tell if you're on the right track by comparing your results with other CUs that are similar to your own. This is because all the organizations in question will share the same asset base.
ROA also plays a role in determining how leveraged a credit union is. Having a desirable ROA is also an indication that your credit union utilizes its existing resources appropriately.
According to one recent study, the average delinquency rate for federally insured credit unions was 63 points in the second quarter of 2023. This is up 15 points, or approximately 31%, from one year prior. Credit card delinquencies were a major factor in that, rising 154 points year-over-year. Auto loans also increased 22 points over the year.
Therefore, if your own credit union is seeing a rising delinquency rate, take a look at your credit card and auto loan assets to see what, if any, organization-specific issues you can address.
Another study indicated that the median growth rate of outstanding loans for credit unions was 11% in the second quarter of 2023. This is up 7.2% overall, year-over-year. If your credit union's own loan growth rate meets or exceeds this, you're certainly on the right path. If it doesn't, you need to take a look at why to determine what you can do in relation to your own members to make up for the difference.
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An asset quality rating of "1" means that your credit union has sound asset quality, which directly relates to your credit administration practices. Any weaknesses that are found are minor. On the other end of the spectrum is an asset quality rating of "5," which means that you're dealing with a "critically deficient asset quality" that presents an "imminent threat" to the viability of your organization.
Ultimately, remember that monitoring these benchmarks needs to be seen as a good start. We're here to help if you're not meeting your benchmarks.
At FLEX, one of our clients found themselves in a similar situation, and we were able to increase the metrics that mattered most by leveraging the full power of FLEX technology to their advantage. If you're interested in learning more, click the button below to delve into our compelling case study.