Over the past year, credit union merger activity has increased across the country. One state, New York, led the nation earlier this year in the number of mergers that have occurred throughout in the Empire State.

In addition to sponsor shakeups and the impact of the Great Recession, smaller credit unions have felt the brunt more than their larger peers here.

Despite the increased consolidation, there may be times when healthy, SEG-based credit unions might want to consider merging.

A closer look at merger trends comes courtesy of the Filene Research Institute. The research report, exclusive to Credit Union Times to share with our readers, explores the factors behind mergers among credit unions with similar makeups, makes its debut within this month's mergers feature section.

Check out the whole package:

• First, read all about the Empire State merger picture.
• Then, George Hofheimer, Filene's chief research officer, summarizes its findings.
• See the entire Filene Research Institute report.
• Expert Opinion: So, why should a SEG-based credit union merge? Because the old relevance is no longer relevant, and times demand change to survive and thrive.

And recently we also reported the NCUA has approved 172 mergers so far this year.