The number of credit unions in the United States has fallen by nearly 40 percent over the past decade, including a drop of 546 institutions last year alone.
But don’t take that decline as any sign of trouble. Most of the credit unions that began decades ago with a small office, or a desk at a company work site for employees to pool their savings and get small loans, are much different today. Credit unions have combined and expanded their membership bonds and services and, in the process, have grown their membership, asset size and profits. Most now have multiple branches and online services and many are now making small business loans.
As a result, credit union consultants at Callahan & Associates expects America’s credit unions could have a record year for loans and income this year. In the first three months of 2015, loan volume among all credit unions was up 10.6 percent from a year ago and capital grew by 8 percent above the same time in 2014.
“By all measures this has been a tremendous start for 2015,” says Jay Johnson, the executive vice president for Callahan. “I think we are looking at a record year for the industry.”
Prior to the Great Recession at the end of 2006, there were 8,695 credit unions in the United States -1,422 more than there are now nationwide. But even with fewer credit unions, the total amount of money held in credit unions jumped by 49 percent over the past eight years.