How to check a credit union's health

Look at three numbers: the net worth ratio, the share of loans 60 or more days past due, and whether membership is growing. Every credit union reports all three to NCUA each quarter, and each credit union page on this site shows them next to the median for credit unions of the same size.

1. Net worth ratio

Net worth is the capital a credit union has built from retained earnings. The ratio is that capital divided by total assets. NCUA’s prompt corrective action rules sort credit unions by it:

Net worth ratio	NCUA category
7% or more	Well capitalized
6% to 6.99%	Adequately capitalized
4% to 5.99%	Undercapitalized
2% to 3.99%	Significantly undercapitalized
Under 2%	Critically undercapitalized

Below 7%, NCUA’s rules start requiring the credit union to set aside earnings to rebuild capital; lower categories bring tighter restrictions. Large credit unions are also measured under a risk-based capital rule, which this site does not compute.

2. Late loans

Divide loans two or more months delinquent by total loans. Across federally insured credit unions the rate was 0.96% at June 30, 2026, according to NCUA’s quarterly summary. A credit union far above its peers is either lending to riskier borrowers on purpose or having trouble collecting; the five-quarter trend is a clue, not an answer.

3. Members and growth

A small credit union that keeps losing members often ends up merging. In NCUA’s merger reports from early 2025 to early 2026, “inability to obtain officials” and “poor financial condition” were among the most common reasons given after “expanded services”. See the merger tracker.

Your deposits

Deposits at a federally insured credit union are covered by NCUA’s National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund up to $250,000 per member for each ownership category, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. That is the same coverage limit as FDIC insurance. A small number of state-chartered credit unions use private insurance instead; their pages on this site say they are not federally insured.

Sources: NCUA prompt corrective action, 12 CFR 702.102; NCUA quarterly data summary, Q2 2026; NCUA, share insurance coverage.