How to Evaluate a Credit Union's Financial Health

A practical guide to reading credit union financial data — net worth ratio, delinquency rate, loan-to-share ratio — and what each metric means for members.

2 min readQ1 2026 NCUA data4 FAQs

Why Review Reported Financial Data?

NCUA Call Reports provide dated, standardized figures that can support comparison and further research. Public metrics do not capture confidential supervision, future events, service quality, or product competitiveness, so they should be reviewed with official sources and current institution information.

Key Metrics to Evaluate

1. Net Worth Ratio

Calculated as net worth divided by total assets. The NCUA uses capital categories under Prompt Corrective Action rules, while CUScore uses the reported ratio as one of two inputs to its separate, non-regulatory grade. Check current NCUA rules before drawing conclusions from a threshold.

2. Delinquency Rate

The reported percentage of total loans that are delinquent under the dataset definition. Compare it with prior periods, portfolio composition, and appropriate peers rather than treating one cutoff as a complete underwriting or risk assessment.

3. Loan-to-Share Ratio

Total loans outstanding divided by total shares and deposits. Measures how fully deployed the credit union's deposits are as loans. A ratio of 70–85% is typical and healthy — enough lending to generate income, enough liquidity to cover withdrawals. Above 95%, the credit union has limited liquidity cushion. Below 50%, the credit union may be overly conservative and holding deposits in lower-yielding investments.

4. Return on Assets (ROA)

Net income relative to average assets. It provides period profitability context, but comparisons should account for institution size, business mix, prior periods, and one-time items.

5. Peer Group Comparison

The NCUA publishes peer-group information that can help put size-sensitive metrics in context. A ratio should not be labeled good or bad solely from institution size, and peer comparison does not replace review of trends or official information.

CUScore Grade Formula

CUScore applies an A+–F letter grade using reported net worth ratio and delinquency rate. The published threshold table explains each tier. The grade omits many factors considered in official supervision and should not be interpreted as an NCUA rating, solvency opinion, deposit-safety conclusion, or forecast.

Where to Find Official Data

The NCUA publishes quarterly call report data at ncua.gov. Our data is sourced directly from NCUA quarterly call reports and updated each quarter (March, June, September, December). For the most current data between our update cycles, visit ncua.gov and use their Credit Union and Corporate Call Report tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

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