Weiss Ratings Guide to Credit Unions Review
Ratings reflect a summation of rigorous analysis which considers a company’s financial solvency relative to both favorable and adverse economic situations. Mainly deriving its analysis from company financial statements, Weiss Ratings then considers that information against a number of different indexes in order to assign its grade.
The main content of the guide presents an alphabetical listing of over 6,000 credit unions. In addition to the institution name, location, and grade, each listing includes information such as total assets, asset growth, net income, asset base investments, and much more, all of which are clearly defined preceding the listings. Subsequent listings in the guide compile recommended credit unions by state (those which have received a grade of B+ or above), as well as those institutions whose ratings have been downgraded or upgraded from the previous quarterly review.
An appendix includes information regarding recently failed institutions, a glossary of terms, and a basic but enlightening comparison between credit unions and banks. The guide is also available for subscription as part of the Financial Ratings Series Online. This guide would be highly useful to consumers or professionals seeking bread-based financial institution information.”
-ARBA
"The stated purpose of the Weiss Ratings Guide to Credit Unions is “to provide consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and municipalities with a reliable source of industry ratings and analysis on a timely basis.” Evaluated in this guide are: checking, merchant banking, or other transaction accounts; an investment in a certificate of deposit or savings account; a line of credit or commercial loan; and a counterparty risk. Weiss safety ratings are based on five indexes: capitalization, asset quality, profitability, liquidity, and stability. Ratings are based on letter grades: A. Excellent; B. Good; C. Fair; D. Weak; E. Very Weak; F. Failed; and U. Unrated. Section I, Index of Credit Unions, is an analysis of all rated U.S. credit unions which are listed in alphabetical order. Entries include: institution name; city; state; safety rating; prior year safety rating; safety rating two years prior; total assets; one year asset growth; commercial loans/total assets; consumer loans/total assets; home mortgage loans/total assets; securities/total assets; capitalization index; and net worth ratio. Section II, Weiss Recommended Credit Unions by State, is a compilation of credit unions receiving a Weiss Safety Rating of A+, A, A-, or B+. Each entry includes: institution name, city, state, telephone, and safety rating. Section III, Rating Upgrades and Downgrades, is a list of all credit unions receiving an upgrade or downgrade during the current quarter. Each entry includes institution name, new safety rating, state, and date of change. The appendix includes a list of failed credit unions (2013-2018), a chart showing the differences between banks and credit unions, and a glossary. The Weiss Ratings Guide to Credit Unions should prove useful to researchers and consumers and is recommended especially to special libraries and larger academic and public libraries."
-ARBA