ALEXANDRIA, Va.-According to newly released statistics from NCUA, federal credit unions adopted a potential of 8.65 million new members in January through community conversions and expansions, underserved additions, and new charters, among other methods. Twenty credit unions added 40 new underserved areas in December for a total of nearly 2.7 million new potential members. Community charter expansions yielded another 1.3 million, while 10 community conversions added another 4.4 million new potential members. The number of potential members from community charter conversions was the second highest for the year with the largest number occurring in May. Two new credit unions were chartered in December, including Jefferson Community Development Federal Credit Union (as previously reported) and Green Tree Federal Credit Union located in Glenside, Pa. Merger activity kept up last month with 29 total mergers, leaving state-chartered credit unions up two over federal credit unions. No charter or insurance conversions occurred during the month of December.