# AMERICAN FIRST
BREA, CA · NCUA charter 68485 · asset band $1-10B · latest filing 2026-03 · live
Share link (named URL with a preview card): https://getbookiq.com/cu/american-first-68485

Who the members are: state charter, organized 1989, low-income designated. 50,550 members of 3,149,507 potential (1.6% of the field); checking penetration 33% (share draft accounts per 100 members); loans per 100 members 25.

**Verdict on the desk:** this could be *liquidity-tight*. Composite score 2 of 18 (one point per flag across 17 flags, capital below 7% counted twice).

## What the filing shows

| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total assets | $1.31B |
| Members | 50,550 (13.2% YoY) |
| Full-time staff | 120 |
| Net worth | $135.3M |
| Net worth ratio | 10.3% (p40 of band) |
| ROA (annualized) | 0.81% (p59 of band) |
| Total delinquency | 0.12% (p3 of band) |
| Net charge-offs (annualized) | 0.34% (p28 of band) |
| Loans / shares | 97% (p83 of band) |
| Cash / assets | 4.0% |
| Borrowings / assets | 2.63% |
| Net interest margin | 2.77% (p17 of band) |
| Operating expense / assets | 2.28% (p11 of band) |
| Vehicles % of loans | 10% (p12 of band) |
| Indirect vehicle % of vehicle (all-channel basis before 2022) | 76% |
| Third-party paper % of net worth | 64% (p29 of band) |
| Vehicle delinquency | 0.81% (p68 of band) |
| Vehicle NCO | 2.87% (p94 of band) |
| Repossessed % of vehicle book | 0.46% (p95 of band) |
| Real estate % of loans | 15% |
| Credit cards % of loans | 1% |
| Unsecured % of loans | 33% |
| Commercial % of net worth | 343% |
| Core shares % of member funds | 27% |
| Certificates % of member funds | 14% |
| Average share balance | $16,092 |
| Participations bought / yr | $0 |
| Participations sold / yr | $23.7M |
| Participations outstanding | $653,430 |
| Loans outstanding per 100 members | 25% |
| Loans granted per 100 members, annualized | 6% |
| Average loan balance | $87,701 |
| Loans granted, annualized | $513.2M |

## Participation posture (from the same filings)

Bought $0 and sold $23.7M in the latest annualized quarter; $653,430 outstanding purchased (0.5% of net worth), $64.3M sold and retained. Sold in 8 and bought in 0 of the last 8 quarters. Shares 34.3% year over year.

## Flags firing in the latest filing

- **repo signal** (`aq_repo`)
- **loans>95% of shares** (`str_ltos`)

## Warning timeline

| Quarter | Score | Flags that first fired | Flags that cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03 | 1 | leaning on borrowings |  |
| 2016-06 | 1 |  |  |
| 2016-09 | 2 | net worth falling |  |
| 2016-12 | 2 |  |  |
| 2017-03 | 4 | delinquency rising, members leaving |  |
| 2017-06 | 1 |  | net worth falling, delinquency rising, members leaving |
| 2017-09 | 3 | loans>95% of shares, 3rd-party paper>100% NW |  |
| 2017-12 | 3 |  |  |
| 2018-03 | 3 |  |  |
| 2018-06 | 3 |  |  |
| 2018-09 | 3 |  |  |
| 2018-12 | 3 |  |  |
| 2019-03 | 3 |  |  |
| 2019-06 | 2 |  | loans>95% of shares |
| 2019-09 | 2 |  |  |
| 2019-12 | 2 |  |  |
| 2020-03 | 5 | losing money, delinquency rising, loan book shrinking |  |
| 2020-06 | 3 |  | losing money, delinquency rising |
| 2020-09 | 2 |  | loan book shrinking |
| 2020-12 | 2 |  |  |
| 2021-03 | 1 |  | 3rd-party paper>100% NW |
| 2021-06 | 2 | 3rd-party paper>100% NW |  |
| 2021-09 | 3 | delinquency rising |  |
| 2021-12 | 2 |  | 3rd-party paper>100% NW |
| 2022-03 | 0 |  | leaning on borrowings, delinquency rising |
| 2022-06 | 1 | leaning on borrowings |  |
| 2022-09 | 3 | loans>95% of shares, 3rd-party paper>100% NW |  |
| 2022-12 | 2 | net worth falling | leaning on borrowings, loans>95% of shares |
| 2023-03 | 3 | leaning on borrowings |  |
| 2023-06 | 3 | loans>95% of shares | net worth falling |
| 2023-09 | 2 | delinquency rising | leaning on borrowings, loans>95% of shares |
| 2023-12 | 2 | loans>95% of shares | delinquency rising |
| 2024-03 | 3 | net worth falling, delinquency rising | loans>95% of shares |
| 2024-06 | 3 | loans>95% of shares | net worth falling |
| 2024-09 | 2 |  | loans>95% of shares |
| 2024-12 | 2 |  |  |
| 2025-03 | 2 | losing money | delinquency rising |
| 2025-06 | 2 | delinquency rising | losing money |
| 2025-09 | 3 | net worth falling, repo signal | delinquency rising |
| 2025-12 | 3 | loans>95% of shares | net worth falling |
| 2026-03 | 2 |  | 3rd-party paper>100% NW |

## In the news (Google News, unfiltered, newest first; check the city)

- 2026-07-17 [American First Credit Union employees deposit interest, time into OC Food Bank - Los Angeles Times](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi0gFBVV95cUxPNDdETVRvUmZzVlJsVGJkcUpidVk4MF82UFJGQkd4bUR6YXhQSmlfTTRpZTlzOEU2VmxseXdab2J4YWJmRTJKaFhQRTExaHhBMTVnMmthMlhNZnkwRFVUTEhvRGJkQzc0cGhzZ0ZYUHBNLUtLaV9BUW9hNWo2Sm9wLUNTbm53Qm5nN3RyMlNIdzVRX2RlakVSclZiaEFTdTBsMGtaYkdRbzFOZDNkYlkyeFNXSDR4aFVLRVpfWnJwUFQ5bFdCbnBINnp2NWRQM0wxZnc?oc=5) · Los Angeles Times
- 2026-07-01 [Best Credit Unions Nationwide Of 2026 - The College Investor](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZ0FVX3lxTFBVX09RNXdqdUlBSVNzeGdyUmZncHd6NHZjbFZDZXFfaWhNZHhiNi1PTTJOVkd6WGk1Vnk5dDR1cFVyVV9qYVFORk9NWVRVbkM1OWtsMmM1ekJiTnlSdkxBTUxvelE5a28?oc=5) · The College Investor
- 2026-03-27 [America First Credit Union review (2026): Market-leading CD rates for those who qualify for membership - Yahoo Finance](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqgFBVV95cUxObDhZR0ZLVmZ4aFNtdEpLVGEwZWsyRUxFZ3ZlWGlvNWFSUl9MY2o5WlMyRHRGZUV6OHRYN0o5cHBYR1RKcHdvNDNDTVJLN254WmxUcktaNFU1RGN3YzczSG1ONGlZVmEzNEkyNzR6U1JlbmZKVHZOcHFnRGVKYWdfUk9ISW1FajF6Q3ByTlRlSUU4cllscHZ0SFZqTXB0dUpDZmhRNVlsdlVZdw?oc=5) · Yahoo Finance
- 2024-08-07 [Valley First Credit Union appoints Mary Roberts as new Chief Financial Officer - CUInsight](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiuwFBVV95cUxPMF81ZHlOWXhiaC1LXzRzRjJBclFINXRzbjZRRVNNWlprb0FFOTNMTEJ0REJxQm9yZ1VoOFdVejVRSVNCRC1fczVXZFdjTm1GN0M2cUU3ZERmRWZBVUZvM2JjV1lVckRmenB2Nml0MjJkMTdSX2E1WEktS09mbVZVUTV1NHVTcWJ6SlhrV0oxSVRJQ0xIV0Y5UkNzUmkwSDZHdFFueG5yZWdweDFSM01MYldSMkh5Z3VhOFFF?oc=5) · CUInsight
- 2025-12-16 [America’s Best Regional Banks & Credit Unions 2026 - Newsweek Rankings](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigwFBVV95cUxNblc5ZFlRYURwTFhWdFZZX3o2ODdLSlJKYjRBaHBlU1pfRVgtT2lOVnc1djFlQXlxUzVkZl9MN2dqWjB2OGs5Um51RUhzb2JId3ZraHkwTnJYa19NOG1PWFdraDlFd1E2Y1FhbWg0UjZzM3V2Ry1fYndBN0RSUU01R1ZiTQ?oc=5) · Newsweek Rankings
- 2026-08-03 [Best 2-Year CD Rates of 2026 - The Motley Fool](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifEFVX3lxTE53SGo1aGl2OXNMeEs1cGJhWVI4TjdtS0cteHl1Yk9uZWZzZ1dFbWFjY1dqS1kxOUJMazlMUHdmaEtKZFFPdEFiYml3MFVIQjM1cEhDbkNycW50ZHN4ZzB6SzNqeTQxRzdpbVhxanhIZmUtQmRfRTVhZ0NBX3k?oc=5) · The Motley Fool
- 2013-05-15 [Shigematsu CEO of American First Credit Union - Orange County Business Journal](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifEFVX3lxTE4yanRCUTBHcmZTZWVTLTJWTnR1Y0t5Z21ZbTJFTEdRNTZpWnNZaE1weldMNVBtUm0tdUJSREc2bjVEYzBxNWFyamhZOG5oRGRnM1gtQmlIVUwzVW13bmhVazZwVmFvSm91ZnVZTWd6akQybG5uV2VxbFlYOVg?oc=5) · Orange County Business Journal
- 2025-07-08 [Lawsuit claims 7 companies violated Fair Credit Reporting Act - HousingWire](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMioAFBVV95cUxQU0l3V2NWOVpMd01XcnZCbG01amZlbzhKRWc2cnVUUXFSRTh2am1OekpGR29BRWVJTTJNbTBrZ0FiLWZyMkIzTmFwbEN6eWVSUHB1d1VYT2Q0aUEzazVSRlRXeEl6M0U2cUxRd2poRGFydzVNbmVEUXZBTUZSLUJIY3hLaVZVWFc0WlVOdG0wakNycTVmYVVkT3c5bjZNLUFs?oc=5) · HousingWire

## How to verify

- Page: https://getbookiq.com/cu-intel/#cu=68485 (every cell opens its formula and NCUA account codes; the News tab is the same search)
- Latest row, JSON: https://getbookiq.com/cu-intel/data/summary.json · history: https://getbookiq.com/cu-intel/data/h/5.json (key "68485", columns cycle, assets, loans, shares, networth, nwr, roa, total_dq_pct, total_nco_pct, vehicle, veh_pct_loans, indirect, ind_pct_veh, ind_veh, ind_re, ind_comm, ind_other, ind_pct_loans, loans_n, granted_n_ytd, granted_ann, loan_pen, granted_pen, avg_loan_bal, loans_per_fte, veh_part, tp_pct_nw, veh_dq_pct, veh_nco_pct, repo_pct_veh, members_yoy, ltos, cash_pct, borrow_pct, nim_pct, opex_pct, risk_score, members, fte, cash_total, invest_sec, allowance_eff, int_income_ytd, int_exp_ytd, provision_eff_ytd, nonint_income_ytd, nonint_exp_ytd, net_income_ytd, n_flags, re_pct_loans, cc_pct_loans, comm_pct_loans, cert_pct_shares, core_pct_shares, part_buy_ann, part_sell_ann, pot_members, sh_draft_n, chk_pen, fom_pen, flags)
- Participation history: https://getbookiq.com/participation-desk/#cu=68485
- Field definitions: https://getbookiq.com/dictionary/#cu-ltos and the rest of the credit union dictionary
- Source: NCUA 5300 call report bulk files. Income fields are annualized by cycle month (Mar x4, Jun x2, Sep x4/3, Dec x1). Percentiles are within the asset band in the same quarter.

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Rendered 2026-09-10 from the desks' own data files. Full guide: https://getbookiq.com/guide