No Dancing in the Street: Billion-Dollar CUs Membership Dips as ROA Shimmies

MADISON, Wis. — More than two dozen billion-dollar credit unions reported a drop in membership in the first quarter even as the movement continued to grow its overall base.

According to CUNA Mutual Group’s latest Credit Union Trends Report, which cites data from CUNA statistics, 3,721 credit unions reported year-to-date drops in membership. These credit unions account for 25% of assets at the end of the first quarter. The group also includes 27 of the 132 billion-dollar credit unions, said Dave Colby, chief economist at CUNA Mutual.

Delving deeper into the data, at the end of the first quarter, 132 credit unions reported assets of $1 billion or more.These same credit unions have added 1.3 million members over the past year for 5% annual growth, Colby said. Of the 132 billion dollar credit unions, 23 reported membership declines over the past year with 14 reporting a decrease in the first quarter. These credit unions held 11% of the assets in the billion-dollar segment and 10% of the members.