Credit Union and Economic Reports

Credit Union Trends Report

The Credit Union Trends Report is a monthly "pulse check" on the state of the credit union marketplace, often placed in a historical context. The report includes data from two months prior and is published and distributed by Steven Rick from TruStage™.

February 2025

• Real home prices rose 3.1% in 2024, almost twice the long run pace of 1.6%.
• Credit union loan balances are expected to grow 5% in 2025, up from 2.8% in 2024.
• The personal savings rates averaged only 4.6% recently, below the 6% long run average, creating a headwind for credit union deposit growth.
• Credit union loan delinquency rates will fall to 0.90% in 2025 from 0.99% today.
• The credit union movement’s equity-to-asset ratio ended 2024 at 9.7%, up from the 9.1% reported at year-end 2023.
• Credit unions picked up 3.3 million memberships in 2024, down from the 4 million gains reported in 2023.

Past reports

January 2025

We are forecasting real gross domestic product to rise 2.3% in 2025, slightly above the long-run average of 2%, creating the “soft landing” scenario the Federal Reserve is shooting for.

December 2024

Credit union new-auto loan balances fell 0.1% in October, similar to the decline set in October 2023, and decreased 5.6% during the last year.

Economic report

February 2025

• New car sales rose 3.2% in February from January and are up 2.1% from one year earlier.
• The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in February, below the 4.5% considered full employment.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 2.8% in February on a year-over-year pace, down from 3% in January, but still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
• Credit union savings balances rose only 4.7% in 2024, above the 1.6% pace reported in 2023.