CITIZENS EQUITY FIRST

Charter #68448 | IL

7B-10B (30 CUs) Large (64 CUs)
1 7B-10B in IL

CITIZENS EQUITY FIRST has 5 strengths but faces 8 concerns

Key Strengths

Areas where this CU excels compared to peers

  • + Organic Growth Engine: Top 11.5% in tier
  • + Wallet Share Momentum: Top 30.8% in tier
  • + Relationship Depth Leader: Top 33.3% in tier
  • + ROA 0.36% above tier average
  • + Net Interest Margin 0.42% above tier average

Key Concerns

Areas that may need attention

  • - Margin Compression: Bottom 0.0% in tier
  • - Credit Quality Pressure: Bottom 14.8% in tier
  • - Indirect Auto Dependency: Bottom 15.2% in tier
  • - Growth-at-Risk: Bottom 15.5% in tier
  • - Liquidity Strain: Bottom 32.9% in tier
  • - Liquidity Overhang: Bottom 40.0% in tier
  • - Delinquency rate 0.37% above tier average
  • - Fee Income Per Member: Bottom 10.0% in tier

Core Metrics

As of 2025-Q3

Metric Current vs Tier Tier Avg State Avg (IL) National Avg Tier Percentile
Members 416,558
+3.5% YoY+0.6% QoQ
-42.7K 459,296
+3.8% YoY
21,352
+8.3% YoY
33,089
+6.1% YoY
43rd in tier
Assets $8.1B
+3.9% YoY-1.2% QoQ
$-846.7M $8.9B
+1.2% YoY
$379.6M
+9.6% YoY
$547.7M
+7.8% YoY
Bottom 13.3% in tier
Loans $6.3B
+5.8% YoY+0.3% QoQ
$-5.5M $6.3B
+2.9% YoY
$267.7M
+12.9% YoY
$388.7M
+8.6% YoY
47th in tier
Deposits $7.0B
+5.2% YoY-0.4% QoQ
$-428.0M $7.5B
+2.3% YoY
$314.3M
+10.4% YoY
$464.6M
+9.3% YoY
Bottom 23.3% in tier
ROA 1.4%
-20.7% YoY+2.0% QoQ
+0.4% 1.0%
+22.1% YoY
0.8%
-108.9% YoY
0.7%
+273.4% YoY
67th in tier
NIM 3.4%
-0.6% YoY+2.4% QoQ
+0.4% 3.0%
+11.5% YoY
3.7%
+5.1% YoY
3.7%
+5.0% YoY
67th in tier
Efficiency Ratio 54.2%
+8.5% YoY+0.0% QoQ
-9.5% 63.7%
-2.2% YoY
90.4%
+10.2% YoY
79.1%
-3.3% YoY
Bottom 16.7% in tier
Delinquency Rate 1.0%
+7.7% YoY+7.7% QoQ
+0.4 0.7%
+10.8% YoY
1.5%
-12.1% YoY
1.2%
-0.9% YoY
Top 13.3% in tier
Loan To Share 90.2%
+0.5% YoY+0.8% QoQ
+4.7% 85.4%
+0.7% YoY
62.3%
-1.7% YoY
68.0%
-1.7% YoY
53rd in tier
AMR $32,076
+1.9% YoY-0.7% QoQ
$-2K $33,660
-2.9% YoY
$15,032
+2.8% YoY
$19,418
+1.3% YoY
63rd in tier
CD Concentration 26.7%
-0.1% YoY+0.9% QoQ
-2.2% 28.9%
-1.3% YoY
13.7%
+4.0% YoY
19.6%
+6.2% YoY
41st in tier
Indirect Auto % 31.3%
+3.0% YoY-1.0% QoQ
+14.7% 16.6%
-10.3% YoY
7.2%
+3.4% YoY
7.9%
-2.9% YoY
Top 15.6% in tier

Signature Analysis

Strengths (3)

Organic Growth Engine

growth
#18 of 50 • Top 11.5% in tier

Growing membership while maintaining profitability. Healthy fundamentals in place.

Why This Signature
Member Growth (YoY): 3.52%
(Tier: 3.07%, National: 9.37%)
better than tier avg
Return on Assets: 1.39%
(Tier: 0.91%, National: 0.71%)
better than tier avg
Indirect Auto %: 31.33%
(Tier: 16.60%, National: 7.90%)
but worse than tier avg
50 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 917 nationally
→ Stable (52→50 CUs) -2 CUs YoY | Rank worsening

Wallet Share Momentum

growth
#37 of 46 • Top 30.8% in tier

Average member relationship growing year-over-year. Members are deepening their engagement.

Why This Signature
AMR Growth (YoY): 1.89%
(Tier: 2.82%, National: 4.19%)
but worse than tier avg
46 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 1330 nationally
↑ Growing +18 CUs YoY | New qualifier

Relationship Depth Leader

growth
#40 of 46 • Top 33.3% in tier

Average member relationship growing year-over-year. Increasing engagement suggests members are consolidating more business here.

Why This Signature
AMR Growth (YoY): 1.89%
(Tier: 2.82%, National: 4.19%)
but worse than tier avg
Share Draft per Member: $2.4K
(Tier: $3.2K, National: $2.0K)
but worse than tier avg
46 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 1330 nationally
↑ Growing +18 CUs YoY | New qualifier

Concerns (6)

Margin Compression

decline
#1 of 8 • Bottom 0.0% in tier

Strong profitability track record but margins eroding. Something changed - rising costs or falling yields need addressing.

Why This Signature
Return on Assets: 1.39%
(Tier: 0.91%, National: 0.71%)
but better than tier avg
ROA Change (YoY): -0.36% points
(Tier: 0.13% points, National: 0.05% points)
worse than tier avg
Total Assets: $8.07B
(Tier: $8.92B, National: $547.69M)
worse than tier avg
8 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 169 nationally
→ Stable (8→8 CUs) | New qualifier

Credit Quality Pressure

risk
#19 of 34 • Bottom 14.8% in tier

Delinquencies are rising year-over-year. Credit risk is building - they may need better underwriting tools.

Why This Signature
Delinquency Change (YoY): 0.07% points
(Tier: 0.04% points, National: 0.07% points)
worse than tier avg
34 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 1002 nationally
↓ Shrinking -17 CUs YoY | Rank improving

Indirect Auto Dependency

risk
#16 of 33 • Bottom 15.2% in tier

Significant portion of loan portfolio in indirect auto (>15%). This concentration creates dependency on dealer relationships.

Why This Signature
Asset Growth (YoY): 3.94%
(Tier: 4.60%, National: 3.04%)
worse than tier avg
Indirect Auto %: 31.33%
(Tier: 16.60%, National: 7.90%)
worse than tier avg
Member Growth (YoY): 3.52%
(Tier: 3.07%, National: 9.37%)
but better than tier avg
33 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 768 nationally
→ Stable (34→33 CUs) -1 CUs YoY

Growth-at-Risk

risk
#16 of 25 • Bottom 15.5% in tier

Loan portfolio growing while delinquencies are rising. Expansion with deteriorating credit quality needs attention.

Why This Signature
Loan Growth (YoY): 5.77%
(Tier: 4.99%, National: 36.38%)
but better than tier avg
Delinquency Change (YoY): 0.07% points
(Tier: 0.04% points, National: 0.07% points)
worse than tier avg
25 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 646 nationally
↓ Shrinking -13 CUs YoY | Rank improving

Liquidity Strain

risk
#29 of 32 • Bottom 32.9% in tier

Loan demand outpacing deposits. They're bumping against liquidity limits - need funding solutions.

Why This Signature
Loan-to-Share Ratio: 90.18%
(Tier: 84.48%, National: 67.96%)
but better than tier avg
Loan Growth (YoY): 5.77%
(Tier: 4.99%, National: 36.38%)
but better than tier avg
32 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 484 nationally
→ Stable (27→32 CUs) +5 CUs YoY | New qualifier

Liquidity Overhang

risk
#23 of 24 • Bottom 40.0% in tier

Very high net worth ratio (>12%). Strong capital position may indicate opportunity to deploy capital more productively.

Why This Signature
Net Worth Ratio: 12.10%
(Tier: 11.62%, National: 14.51%)
but better than tier avg
Loan-to-Share Ratio: 90.18%
(Tier: 84.48%, National: 67.96%)
but better than tier avg
24 of 64 Large CUs have this signature | 691 nationally
↑ Growing +7 CUs YoY | Rank worsening

Metric Rankings

See how this credit union ranks across all tracked metrics compared to peers.

Strengths: Metrics in the top 25% (75th percentile or higher) | Concerns: Metrics in the bottom 25% (25th percentile or lower)

Comparing against 30 peers in tier

Top Strengths (1 metrics)

6
Efficiency Ratio
profitability
Value: 54.22%
Peer Avg: 63.73%
#6 of 30 Top 16.7% in 7B-10B tier

Top Weaknesses (4 metrics)

28
Fee Income Per Member
profitability
Value: $130.50
Peer Avg: $199.46
#28 of 30 Bottom 10.0% in 7B-10B tier
27
Total Delinquency Rate (60+ days)
risk
Value: 1.04%
Peer Avg: 0.67%
#27 of 30 Bottom 13.3% in 7B-10B tier
26
Total Assets
balance_sheet
Value: $8.07B
Peer Avg: $8.92B
#26 of 30 Bottom 16.7% in 7B-10B tier
25
Indirect Auto Concentration (%)
balance_sheet
Value: 31.33%
Peer Avg: 18.85%
#25 of 30 Bottom 20.0% in 7B-10B tier