Essential Credit Union
Baton Rouge, LA·Charter 68736·cu:68736·Credit union RBC / net worth
- #13 of 136Total assets in Louisiana
- 31.4Kmembers
- Top 2%Margin improvement in the U.S.
- #2 of 49Loan growth in Louisiana
- Top 9%Fee income vs. peers
Performance over time
7 available quarters · Gaps indicate missing data · Reported period-end total assets; consolidated for FFIEC 031.
Inside the balance sheet
Credit union · Shares of reported gross loans. Missing components are not treated as zero.
What stands out at Essential Credit Union
6 of 24 FORFI signals stand out against 569 similar credit unions, based on NCUA data for the quarter.
Borrowed funding rising while the peer median holds steadyWorth a look: Funding 2nd quarter9.8%peers 0.0%+9.8 pp
Essential Credit Union's borrowings as a share of assets rose 5.9 percentage points over the past year to 9.8%. Among 563 similar credit unions, the median was essentially unchanged.
| This institution | Peer median | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Borrowings as a share of assets | ||
| 9.8% | 0.0% | +9.8 pp |
| 12-month change | ||
| +5.9 pp | 0.0 pp | +5.9 pp |
FORFI flags a change when an institution sits in the outer tail of similar institutions and the gap is large enough to matter. Peers: 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile. How signals work
Membership shrinking while the peer median growsWorth a look: Membership 2nd quarter-14.6%peers +0.5%-15.1 pp
Essential Credit Union's membership declined 14.6% over the past year. The median among 563 similar credit unions was +0.5%.
| This institution | Peer median | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Membership, 12-month growth | ||
| -14.6% | +0.5% | -15.1 pp |
FORFI flags a change when an institution sits in the outer tail of similar institutions and the gap is large enough to matter. Peers: 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile. How signals work
Net interest margin widening faster than peersStrength: Earnings 2nd quarter3.93%peers 3.67%+26 bps
Essential Credit Union's net interest margin on average assets rose 79 bps over the past year to 3.93%. Among 561 similar credit unions, the median rose 13 bps.
| This institution | Peer median | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Net interest margin on average assets | ||
| 3.93% | 3.67% | +26 bps |
| 12-month change | ||
| +79 bps | +13 bps | +66 bps |
FORFI flags a change when an institution sits in the outer tail of similar institutions and the gap is large enough to matter. Peers: 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile. How signals work
Efficiency ratio falling faster than peersStrength: Efficiency77.3%peers 75.9%+1.3 pp
Essential Credit Union's efficiency ratio fell 22.9 percentage points over the past year to 77.3%. Among 561 similar credit unions, the median fell 0.6 percentage points.
| This institution | Peer median | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency ratio | ||
| 77.3% | 75.9% | +1.3 pp |
| 12-month change | ||
| -22.9 pp | -0.6 pp | -22.2 pp |
FORFI flags a change when an institution sits in the outer tail of similar institutions and the gap is large enough to matter. Peers: 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile. How signals work
Lending absorbing more of the share base as cash fallsWorth a look: Liquidity96.4%+8.1 pp in 12 months
Essential Credit Union's loans rose to 96.4% of shares and deposits, 8.1 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while cash fell to 7.3% of assets. The median change in the loan-to-share ratio among 563 similar credit unions was -0.2 pp.
| Observed | Change |
|---|---|
| Loans / shares and deposits | |
| 96.4% | +8.1 pp in 12 months |
| Cash / assets | |
| 7.3% | -2.4 pp in 12 months |
FORFI flags a change when an institution sits in the outer tail of similar institutions and the gap is large enough to matter. Peers: 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile. How signals work
1 more observation
- Net charge-offs rising while the peer median fallsAsset quality
Key facts
- Essential Credit Union is a state-chartered credit union headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It reported $434 million in total assets for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.
- Shares and deposits totaled $362 million, up 1.0% from a year earlier, and loans totaled $349 million, up 10.3%.
- Its net interest margin on average assets was 3.93% and its annualized return on assets was 0.45% for the quarter.
- Its cost of all shares and deposits was 2.07%, compared with a median of 1.45% among 566 similar credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets.
- It served 31,430 members, down 14.6% from a year earlier.
Scorecard against peers
Capitalization
Liquidity & funding
Margin & yield
Income & expense
Asset quality
Charge-offs & allowance
Arrows show whether the value sits above or below the peer median. Colour shows whether that side is favourable for the measure: green favourable, red unfavourable, grey where neither side is (for example, a lower loan-to-core-deposit ratio is favourable, so a negative gap is green). Peer medians cover the same source, form, period, institution type and asset band, and count this institution in its own cohort. The peer line on every chart reads the same cohort. Regulatory definitions differ from FORFI quarterly estimates.
Watch items
Screening prompts computed from this filing only. Thresholds follow common review conventions and interagency concentration references; they are not supervisory ratings or predictions.
Public filings show what changed. Internal data shows why.
With Essential Credit Union's own data, FORFI would look at: Which depositors and relationships drive the change in funding, and what to offer them next.
Analysis workspaces
Sources and identifiers
- Institution
- Essential Credit Union · Credit union
- NCUA charter
- 68736
- Reporting period
- Peer group
- 569 credit unions with $300 million to $1 billion in assets that filed NCUA data for the same quarter. Essential Credit Union itself is left out of every peer median and percentile.
Figures are FORFI calculations from public regulatory filings, shown as reported. Signals are descriptive screening rules, not supervisory ratings, credit opinions or forecasts. Methodology
Income & calculation basis
NCUA · 2026-04-01 through 2026-06-30 · Annualization factor 4.010989 applies to ROA and margin only.
| Measure | FORFI calculation |
|---|---|
| $482.86K | |
| $6.51M | |
| $2.28M | |
| $4.23M | |
| $2.38M | |
| $5.11M | |
| $1.02M | |
| $1.02M | |
| 0.45% | |
| 3.93% | |
| 77.27% |
How to interpret differences
Flows cover the selected income window. Balance-sheet amounts, members and staffing are as of the filing date.
Published FDIC references use the regulator's own averaging, annualization and adjustments; the convention selector changes FORFI calculations only. Source-provided averages are used when available; endpoint fallbacks are labeled estimates.
Missing inputs remain unavailable. Credit-union margins use average assets and are not comparable with bank margins over earning assets.
AFS + HTM securities exclude deposits at other institutions. Broader investment totals may overlap cash; do not add them to cash without reconciling components.
Regulatory source definitionsFiling imported 2026-09-16T13:43:41.229347+00:00. Separate reference provenance is included in the export.