Industrywide, yield on investments improved 31 basis points annually to 1.66% as of Dec. 31, 2017. This is the highest year-end rate since 2011. Yield on loans has steadily decreased since 2008 thanks in part to the low interest rate climate in the United States; however, it was down only 1 basis point in the past year to 4.55%. Additionally, cost of funds increased 5 basis points to 0.64%,the first uptick since 2008. Typically cost of funds increases in the fourth quarter, however the year-over-year increase suggests credit unions are gradually paying more on deposits in certain products.

Yield on investments increased 31 basis points. Yield on loans, which has steadily decreased since 2008, remained relatively steady amid the ongoing low interest rate climate.

The efficiency ratio, excluding the provision for loan losses, decreased in all regions in 2017, and the industry average dropped 1.82%. Credit unions in the Southeast Region posted the highest efficiency ratio in the nation, 74.1%, even though the region improved that metric 2.9 percentage points year-over-year, also the highest in the nation. The region with the lowest efficiency ratio was the Mid-Atlantic. At 64.1%, the ratio was 1.9 percentage points lower than last year.

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Efficiency improved across the nation. Southeast credit unions posted the largest improvement in the efficiency ratio of any region in the past 12 months.

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