A credit union's net worth divided by its total assets, as a percentage. NCUA treats 7 percent or more as well capitalized and 6 percent as adequately capitalized.
NCUA defines the net worth ratio as the ratio of a credit union’s net worth to its total assets, expressed as a percentage rounded to two decimal places. Net worth is mainly retained earnings under generally accepted accounting principles as of the most recent quarter end.
The capital rule uses the ratio to sort credit unions. One at 7.0 percent or greater is well capitalized, and one at 6.0 percent or greater is adequately capitalized, in each case provided it also meets any risk-based requirement that covers it. Below 6.0 percent a credit union is undercapitalized, with further steps down at 4.0 and 2.0 percent.
For a borrower the dollar amount of net worth matters more than the ratio, because the lending limits are multiples of it. Commercial loans to one borrower group stop at the greater of 15 percent of net worth or $100,000, and member business loans in total stop at 1.75 times net worth for a credit union that is not exempt.
Example: $30 million of net worth on $300 million of assets is a ratio of 10.00 percent, and 15 percent of that net worth is $4.5 million.
How it shows up in the data here
Each credit union row carries net worth in dollars (5300 account 997) and total assets (account 010) as of June 30, 2026, so the ratio can be worked out from the two; this site does not publish it as a ranked field or make any statement about a named credit union's capital. Net worth is also the base for the credit union CRE concentration figure. See the data dictionary.
Go further
- Data dictionary: Every field, its source and its 5300 account code.
- Search credit unions: Every credit union row, with filters.
- How to read a credit union's 5300 call report: Credit unions file their own call report, NCUA Form 5300, every quarter. For commercial loans it says more than a bank's report does: it counts the loans, and it reports what was made during the year.
- How to place a business loan with a credit union: Credit unions make business loans, and some make a lot of them. Three things are different from a bank: the borrower must be a member, most credit unions work under a cap on business loans, and the limit to one borrower is set against net worth.
Related terms
- Credit union single borrower limit: The most a credit union may lend in commercial loans to one borrower or group of associated borrowers: the greater of 15 percent of its net worth or $100,000.
- Member business loan cap: The legal ceiling on a credit union's member business loans: 1.75 times its net worth, or 1.75 times the net worth a well capitalized credit union must hold, if that is less.
- Tier 1 capital: A bank's core capital under the capital rule: common equity tier 1 plus additional tier 1. The minimums are 6 percent of risk-weighted assets and a 4 percent leverage ratio.
- Capital and surplus: The capital base a national bank's lending limit is measured against: tier 1 and tier 2 capital plus the part of the loan loss allowance that tier 2 leaves out.
- NCUA 5300 call report: The financial report every natural person credit union files with NCUA each quarter. It is the public source for what a credit union lends and holds.
- CRE concentration: A bank's commercial real estate loans measured against its capital. Federal guidance from 2006 flags 300 percent of total capital, with 50 percent growth in 36 months, for closer review.
Sources
- 12 CFR 702.2, Definitions (net worth, net worth ratio), retrieved .
- 12 CFR 702.102, Capital classification, retrieved .
- 12 U.S.C. 1790d, Prompt corrective action (net worth categories), retrieved .
Plain definitions for orientation, not legal, tax or credit advice. A lender's own policy decides what it will do.