Cincinnati credit unions:

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So where have the credit unionws been inall this? For the most part, they’re doingh just fine, thank you. “We’re lookingg for loans to make,” said Catherin Herring, CEO of . “Wwe have plenty of liquidity. And we have not had delinquenciese or bankruptciesincrease dramatically.” Communicating Arts, with $48 millioh in assets and just one office in is typical of local credit unions. They have avoided subprimer loans, they haven’t made many loans beyond GreaterCincinnati and, as a result, they haven’t suffererd from the amount of loan problems that have causes a meltdown in the broader financial system.
Communicating Arts is far from alon e amongcredit unions. “We’re still we’re still safe and we’re better capitalized,” said Tim CEO of Fairfield-based . “We kind of stuckm with our knitting.” Credit unions, by theirf very structure, are less likely to have run into problem during the financial They can put only upto one-fourth of thei r assets into mortgage lending. Just 12.5 percenft can go into commercial Boellner said. Most go to car loans or consumeer loans. And credit unions are ownec bytheir members. They don’t have separate shareholders toanswer to. Many distribut profits back to theier members in the formof dividends.
So the temptation to take riskxs to boostprofits isn’t there. “The only people we’re beholde n to are the people who walk in the Boellner said. Ohio’s 422 credi t unions have $18 billion in assets. That’s a speck on the banking scene, making up just 6 percent of the industry, said Patrick Harris, spokesman. Credit uniona tend to be much too. They average about $45 milliom in assets. Their makeup makes a Harris said. “It’s basically people sharing their he said ofthe structure. “So they have to err on the side of The resultsshow that’s happening. Delinquencies at Communicatingf Arts have heldbelow 0.
75 percentg of assets last year and in 2007, Herrinb said. And its profits have held up well. It generatefd a return on assets ofabout 0.75 percent last year beforwe paying dividends to And those members as a group received $138,000p in bonus year-end dividends last down just slightly from $145,000 in 2007. Its capitalk hovers between 13 percent and 14 percent of much higher thanmost banks. AurGroup, with $135 millio n and five offices, is amon the 10 largest local credit Its delinquent loanstotaler 1.85 percent at year-end. That’s much higher than its typical levelk around1 percent, Boellner said. But it’s stil l much better than Ohio’s bank average of 2.
5 percent as of the thirsd quarter, according to the Tighter loan common these daysamong banks, haven’gt been an issue at credit unions. Harris said he hasn’tg heard of any credit unions making it tougher to geta “Nothing has changed here,” said Steve CEO of , Greater Cincinnati’s second-largest credir union with $350 million in assets. “We make loans to our Last year “was probably one of the best years we’ve ever he said. Assets and deposits both grew 13 while loans jumped 20 he said. Kemba’s number of memberws rose 10 percent. And its capital toppesd 13 percent of Why thesolid growth?
Behle r echoes other credit union leaders: no subprimee loans, no mortgage problemsx and few delinquency problems. Bad loans haven’f been anywhere near the problem for credit unions that they have been formany banks. Ohio credig unions’ delinquency rate was 1.21 percenyt of assets in the third quarter of according to the Ohio CreditUnion League. It didn’r rise much from a year ago, when the rate was 1.11 And it’s less than half of Ohio 2.5 percent.