ALEXANDRIA, Va. (12/5/14)--Lending in all categories was up in the third quarter of 2014, and credit unions saw the highest annual loan growth rate since the first quarter of 2006, according to data released by the National Credit Union Administration.

The data was released by the agency Thursday for the period between July 1 and Sept. 30.

Outstanding loan balances rose 10.1% from the third quarter of last year, to $695.3 billion. Compared with the third quarter of last year, new-auto loans grew 19.4% to $82.4 billion, used-auto loans increased 12.2% to $140.3 billion, net member business loan balances rose 12.6% to $50.4 billion, and non-federally guaranteed students loans expanded 21.9% to $3.1 billion.

A breakdown of the third quarter statistics from federally insured credit unions, according to the NCUA's call reports. (CUNA Graphic)

Housing loan growth also increased, with first-mortgage loans up 9.1% to $286.4 billion, and second-mortgage loans ticking up 1.1% to $71.5 billion. According to the NCUA, prior to the third quarter, second-mortgage loans had contracted from year-to-year since 2009.

The loan-to-share ratio also increased by 4.3 percentage points, to a total of 74%. This is the highest ratio since the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the agency.

Other third quarter highlights include:

• Total investments by federally insured credit unions declined slightly from the previous quarter to $288.4 billion. Total investments fell $5.1 billion, or 1.7%, from the third quarter of 2013. As a share of assets, total investments declined slightly from the previous quarter to 26%. Long-term investments (those with maturities of at least three years) were 11.1% of assets, down from 12% in the third quarter of 2013;
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• Return on average assets ratio rose to an annualized 83 basis points through the end of the third quarter, a slight increase from the previous quarter and three basis points above the third quarter of 2013. Net income through Sept. 30 was $6.8 billion, up 8.6% from a year earlier;
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• Aggregate net worth ratio for federally insured credit unions was 10.93% at the end of the quarter, 17 basis points higher than the previous quarter and 28 basis points higher than the end of the third quarter of 2013;
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• Federally insured credit unions remain well-capitalized, with 97.5% reporting a net worth ratio at or above the statutorily required 7%, compared with 96.6% at the end of the third quarter of 2013. Less than 1% of federally insured credit unions are below the adequately capitalized standard; and
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• Delinquency and net charge-off ratios were flat between the end of the second quarter and the end of the third. Loan charge-offs due to bankruptcy at the end of the third quarter were 19.7%, below the 20.8% at the end of the third quarter of 2013.

NCUA Chair Debbie Matz called the reduction of long-term investments encouraging.

"A loan to a member is the best investment a credit union can make and benefits members directly. To protect the safety and soundness of the credit union system, NCUA will continue to carefully monitor signs of interest-rate risk," she said.

The NCUA's website contains complete details of the September call reports, as well as a summary of third quarter performance and financial trends data.