Total revenue in 2018 for U.S. credit unions grew 12.8% to $74.4 billion, a 3.2-percentage-point acceleration from 2017. Annual income at credit unions has increased 37.4%, or $20.2 billion, since the Great Recession. Largely a result of rising loan demand and interest rate trends, the amount of income generated at credit unions has expanded throughout 2018.
Buoyed by interest rate hikes, interest income rose 13.9% year-over-year to $54.7 billion at year-end 2018. Interest income, which consists of income from investments and loans, comprised 73.5% of credit union revenue. The Federal Reserve issued four rate hikes throughout the year, which subsequently pushed up interest rates on both sides of the balance sheet. Gaining more per dollar loaned and invested, credit unions increased loan income (less interest refunded) 13.1% annually to $47.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018. Investment income increased 20.3% to $7.1 billion. .
TOTAL REVENUE AND ANNUAL GROWTH
FOR U.S. CREDIT UNIONS | DATA AS OF 12.31.18
© Callahan & Associates | CreditUnions.com
Interest income, which makes up 73.5% of total income at U.S. credit unions, increased 13.9% year-over-year in 2018.
Source: Callahan & Associates
Non-interest income, made up primarily of fee income and other operating income, accounted for the remaining 26.5% of credit union revenue. Total non-interest income reached $20.0 billion, a 9.4% bump from year-end 2017. Fee income in 2018 increased 5.7% to $8.9 billion.
Other operating income increased at the fastest rate, 14.1%, of any non-interest income component and reached $10.8 billion. Propped up by the NCUSIF rebates, this income component made up 14.6% of total revenue at U.S. credit unions.
This is an excerpt from the credit union performance overview available in Callahan’s Credit Union Strategy & Performance. Interested in reading the full piece? Learn how you can get access today.