Number of Problem Credit Unions Edge Higher in March; But Shares and Assets Fall

At today's NCUA Board meeting, the agency reported that the number of problem credit unions increased in March, but shares (deposits) and assets in problem credit unions fell.

A problem credit union is defined as a credit union that has a CAMEL code of 4 or 5.

The number of problem credit unions edged higher by 6 to 366 credit unions; but shares and assets in problem credit unions fell by $400 million and $500 million, respectively. As of the end of March, problem credit unions held $37.3 billion in shares and $42 billion in assets. NCUA reported that problem credit unions held 4.92 percent of the credit union industry’s insured shares and 4.60 percent of the industry’s assets as of the end of March.

While almost half of all problem credit unions are under $10 million in assets, the bulk of the shares and assets are in larger problem credit unions. There were 11 problem credit unions with $1 billion or more in assets holding $18.9 billion in shares. The number of problem credit unions with between $500 million and $1 billion in assets was unchanged at 5 with $3.3 billion in shares. There were 51 problem credit unions with between $100 million and $500 million in assets holding $11.2 billion in shares.