Guides
Credit union net worth ratio: what the number means
Independent site, not the NCUA, a credit union or a bank. General information, not financial advice.
Enter a net worth and total assets, as in a filing. The tool works out the ratio and places it on the federal scale.
Work out a net worth ratio
Net worth ratio
10.91%
| Category on this ratio | Well capitalized |
| All federally insured | 11.42% |
| Room above 7% | $4,300,000 |
Over $500 million in assets, a risk-based test also applies. New credit unions have a separate scale.
A credit union’s net worth ratio is its net worth divided by its total assets, stated to two decimals, and it is the first measure federal rules use to judge capital. Under 12 CFR 702.102, a ratio of 7% or more is well capitalized on this test, 6% to 6.99% adequately capitalized, 4% to 5.99% undercapitalized, 2% to 3.99% significantly undercapitalized and under 2% critically undercapitalized. Federally insured credit unions together stood at 11.42% on June 30, 2026. Over $500 million in assets, a credit union is called complex and also faces a risk-based test or a simpler leverage alternative, so 7% does not settle the question at that size. New credit unions, under ten years old and $10 million or less in assets, have their own scale. We read the rule in the edition of January 1, 2025, and found no change since, without being able to confirm that for 2026 at every level.
One state at a glance
West Virginia: credit unions based here
74
| Members | 376K |
| Assets | $5.27B |
| Net worth ratio | 14.19% |
| Delinquency | 1.15% |
| Offices in the state | 153 |
Filings read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The federal scale
| Net worth ratio | Category, on this test | Federally insured filers |
|---|---|---|
| 7% or more | Well capitalized | 4,152 |
| 6% to 6.99% | Adequately capitalized | 22 |
| 4% to 5.99% | Undercapitalized | 16 |
| 2% to 3.99% | Significantly undercapitalized | 5 |
| Under 2% | Critically undercapitalized | 8 |
Reading the ratio
The ratio is a cushion. It tells you how much of the balance sheet could be lost before members’ shares were exposed, and on the whole the system has plenty. The median for those with assets of $2 to $10 million is 17.30%, for $10 to $50 million it is 13.88%, and at $500 million or more it is 10.78%. Smaller institutions tend to hold more, as they have fewer ways to raise capital and less diversification.
Ratios also vary by state. West Virginia has the highest combined ratio at 14.19%, and Idaho the lowest at 8.84%, as you can see in the state table. A state’s figure is weighted by money, though, so a single large filer can decide it. Among the 100 largest, the range runs from 7.90% to 19.82%.
What a high or a low number can hide
One ratio does not explain itself, and the file does not say why it stands where it does. For a better reading, put it next to late loans and earnings: a low ratio with high delinquency and losses is a far more serious picture than a low ratio with low delinquency and profits.
The NCUA’s prompt corrective action questions explain what the rule requires at each level, and the text itself is at 12 CFR 702.102. Our tools state only the category the ratio alone would give. The agency’s own classification takes the other tests into account and is not published in this file.