This article first appeared on CUCollaborate

Federally insured credit unions had continued deposit and asset growth over the year ending in the third quarter of 2022, the NCUA said in its Quarterly U.S. Map Review.

At the same time, loan growth was the strongest in at least two decades.

Overall membership in federally insured credit unions continued to grow in the third quarter, but at the median, membership declined by 0.2%. Overall, about 52% of federally insured credit unions had fewer members at the end of the third quarter of this year than a year earlier. However, credit unions with falling membership tended to be small; more than 60% had less than $50 million in assets.

Inside the data

Nationally, median asset growth during the year ending in the third quarter was 3.4%, compared with 10.4% a year ago. Median growth in shares and deposits was 3.7%, compared with 11.5% for the prior year.

The national median ratio of total loans outstanding to total shares and deposits was 61% at the end of this year’s third quarter. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, the median loan-to-share ratio stood at 57%.

In addition, the median annualized return on average assets was 50 basis points in the first three quarters of this year, compared with 56 basis points for the same time period in 2021.

Loans outstanding rose 10.1% at the median during the year ending in the third quarter of 2022. During that span in the previous year, loans grew 2.5% at the median. The median delinquency rate for the third quarter of 2022 was 40 basis points, compared with 34 basis points in the third quarter of the year prior.

What else is in the report?

In the report, the NCUA also revealed that:

–Nationally, 83% of federally insured credit unions had positive net incomes in the first three quarters of 2022, compared with 84% in the first three quarters of last year.

–Median asset growth for the time period was the highest in Alaska, where it was 9.1%. Conversely, the lowest growth was in Delaware, where median assets declined by 0.2%.

–Median growth in shares and deposits was also the highest in Alaska, with 10.4% growth, while the lowest mark was New Jersey’s 0.3%.

–Credit unions with headquarters in Alaska experienced the strongest median asset growth—4.6%. At the same time, membership declined in 26 states, as well as in Washington, D.C., where the decline was the largest at 1.5%.

–Median loan growth was the highest in Idaho, at 19.3%. Loans grew the least in Delaware, which experienced 3.6% growth.