Credit unions have up and down first quarter

Inland Empire credit unions accepted nearly $5 billion in deposits and issued $2.5 billion in loans during the first quarter of this year, year-over-year increases of 34 percent and three percent, respectively, according to a recent report.

Both of those numbers were quarterly records, and the deposit number continued a streak of profitable quarters that traces to 2006, the California Credit Union League in Ontario reported.

The 19 credit unions in Riverside and San Bernardino counties – a mix of federally- and state-chartered institutions – added 14,600 members during the first three months of 2021, nearly a 50 percent increase in the last seven years.

First mortgages increased 23 percent, but home equity and new automobile loans didn’t fare so well, falling eight percent and 11 percent between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of this year, respectively.

In Southern California – the Inland Empire plus Los Angeles and Orange counties – credit unions added 25,200 members during the first quarter, a record, and issued $57.4 billion in loans, a three percent year-over-drop.

Home equity loans and new car loans fell 23 percent and 16 percent, respectively, according to the credit union league.