Indiana credit unions growing, albeit slowly

Indiana credit unions saw growth in key measures during the third quarter, according to new federal data, but the pace was among the slowest in the nation.

According to National Credit Union Administration data released Tuesday, the median asset growth rate for Indiana's federally-insured credit unions was 0.7 percent, compared to 1.4 percent nationally. Median deposit growth was 0.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Indiana's credit unions outpaced the nation in median loan growth, however, up 4.5 percent versus 3.5 percent nationally.

Officials with the Indiana Credit Union League noted the federal data didn't include the state's 16 privately-insured credit unions. It pointed to Callahan & Associates data for all 169 of Indiana-based credit unions, but the figures still mostly lagged the national averages.

"Since the recession in 2008," ICUL President John McKenzie said in an email, "there has been growth—never a decline—although the pace in Indiana has not always been the same as it has been nationally."

McKenzie said there's not one factor to point to for the slow growth, and suggested that it may not be such a bad thing when considered in context.

"Compared to some other states, Indiana doesn't have the same rate of growth at times, but we also didn't have as severe of a downward trend as them during the recession," he said.