MADISON, Wis. — As credit unions place managing through an extremely challenging environment as their top priority, merger talks and planning could be sent to the back burner.

There were 8,224 credit unions at the end of the August. On a year-to-date basis, the credit union count was down by 172 institutions, according to CUNA Mutual Group's latest Credit Union Trends Report. Current levels of market consolidation are well below the company's forecast of a 321 credit union loss in 2008.

It may take 12 to 18 months before there is enough stability in the financial services marketplace to see strategic mergers resume in earnest, according to CUNA Mutual, adding market consolidation is expected to be above trend thereafter. The company warned that mergers may go up even more if the fallout from the current financial market crisis changes the underlying value of a credit union charter such as a move to one regulator and/or taxation.