The 2004 Canadian Credit Union Survey included 91 of the largest credit unions in Canada, outside of Quebec. The total assets of these credit unions were $63 billion and represented an increase of 11.8% from the previous year. In comparison, the chartered banks saw their assets grow by only 4.5%. More than three million Canadians were members of these 91 largest credit unions. The largest Canadian Credit Unions returned about $115 million in dividends and patronage payments to their members or 30% of their net income before taxes. The profitability of the largest credit unions in 2004 was weaker than their competitors. The return on equity (ROE) was 10.2%. This was lower than the chartered banks ROE of 17%. The return on assets (ROA) was 0.63% compared to 0.84% for the banks. The lower profitability was primarily due to the higher cost structure of the credit unions. Productivity ratio, which is a measure of costs to revenues, was 76.8% for the largest credit unions compared to 68.9% for the banks.
