After emerging from conservatorship and reshaping its strategy, Texans Credit Union ($2.6 billion, Richardson, Texas) is now seeing renewed membership growth. The credit union reported about 7.5% membership growth in 2025, driven by expansion efforts, product changes and a focus on member relationships, according to Texans.
Texans has paired that growth with a series of expansion and engagement efforts, including a 2026 merger that added more than 10,000 members and three branches, as well as a new branch under construction in McKinney, Texas. The credit union has also rolled out new products and member outreach efforts aimed at building longer-term relationships.
Mike McWethy, EVP, said the growth reflects a series of changes made in recent years, including investments in technology, updates to product offerings and a focus on understanding why members leave.
"It comes down to a few deliberate decisions: To build an internal culture employees are proud to go above and beyond for, uncover why members might be closing their memberships, upgrade our technology and bring our product offerings into the modern era," McWethy said. "Everything else more or less flows from those four things."
Texans recently completed a merger with Las Colinas Federal Credit Union, adding more than 10,000 members and three branches. The deal brought the credit union to about 150,000 members across 14 locations in North Texas. North Texas is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, McWethy said, something he pointed to as supporting the credit union's expansion efforts.
"In 2025, we saw organic membership growth of about 7.5%, more than twice the industry average," McWethy said. "Looking out over the past five years, Texans' membership has grown a cumulative 26%. During that time, we've worked hard to be an institution that meets members where they are, offering high-tech convenience where they expect it and high-touch service when they need a real person. We also believe that when your employees are taken care of and proud of where they work, that translates to how they show up for our members."
A CU Times analysis corroborated Texans' membership growth report, finding that the credit union's member count changed from 130,320 on Dec. 31, 2024 to 140,077 on Dec. 31, 2025.
Auto lending has been a significant contributor to that growth, including through the credit union's indirect lending program, which connects with borrowers through dealership partners. The credit union's loan portfolio grew almost 9% in 2025 to about $1.7 billion, with vehicle loans playing a key role. A CU Times analysis found indirect auto loans grew 15% from Dec. 31, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2025 at Texans.
"And we are proud of that," McWethy said. "We decided that if we want to be in the indirect space, we need to stand out and do it well. This is seen in the details of the pricing, the relationships and the staffing models used to ensure that dealer partners receive fast and consistent answers with competitive pricing."
But McWethy said the strategy is not centered on individual transactions.
"Our growth strategy has never been about winning a single transaction. Membership grew 7.5% last year, deposits grew more than 9% to $2.19 billion, and we launched new products like first-time homebuyer programs, enhanced savings products and new checking tools because we want to grow member relationships, not just loan volume."
McWethy said although an auto loan is often someone's first interaction with Texans, the goal is to earn the opportunity to help them with their next financial milestone, whether that's buying a home, building savings or managing everyday banking.
"Our team is skilled at making personal contact with our newest members to assess their financial needs and create roadmaps to their next milestone," he said.
When it comes to mortgage lending, activity has slowed. McWethy said that's something the entire industry is facing.
"Elevated rates have kept a lot of would-be buyers on the sidelines," he said. "Here in Dallas, nearly 80% of homes sold below list price in 2025, and inventory is increasing."
McWethy said although buyers have more negotiating power now, they still need a lending partner that can show them how to make the down payment and monthly payment work within their budget.
"We built out an in-house mortgage origination team last year so we could serve members with more care and more flexibility than a corporate lender would," he said. "We've also rolled out first-time homebuyer programs specifically designed for today's market, including 3% down payment options, flexible-rate structures to ease initial payment pressure, and our Home Extra 105 product, which finances up to 105% loan-to-value to help cover closing costs."
Through an internal study, Texans learned that many aspiring North Texas homebuyers lack knowledge about things like point buydowns, first-time homebuyer programs and other mechanisms that can make homeownership more affordable.
"We think that's an area credit unions like Texans can and should help," McWethy said.
Regarding HELOCs, the dynamic is different but not unrelated, he said, noting that lot of homeowners who locked in historically low mortgage rates don't want to move but still have financial goals like home renovations.
"The length of time Dallas homeowners stay in their homes has nearly doubled in the last 15 years," McWethy said. "We're seeing a rise in members coming to us to tap into that equity while they're choosing to stay in their existing homes longer. As those lower rate mortgages are gradually being paid down in our portfolio, we are replacing those loans with home equity products that are in high demand. This is a great trade-off for the credit union."
The credit union's recent growth followed a period of significant change after emerging from conservatorship.
"Coming through conservatorship, from 2011 through 2016, was a defining chapter for this organization," McWethy said. "It certainly taught us that a credit union's reputation isn't solely built on a strong balance sheet, though financial strength absolutely matters. It's also built on relationships with members, and we believe our members have stuck with this institution because of how they have been treated and how they will be treated. David Frazier joined as president and CEO in 2020 to build on the new stability post-conservatorship, and brought in a new way to lead with a team that included myself; Ben Hart, CFO; and elevated Texans' chief people officer, Jenni Short, to start rebuilding trust internally and externally."
Along the way, McWethy said they learned an important lesson: "You can't skip steps."
"For us, that meant stabilizing the business after conservatorship, rebuilding trust with employees, modernizing our tech stack, strengthening risk management and making sure our product lineup actually reflects what today's consumers need," he said. "Only after doing that foundational work were we in a position to expand, whether that meant launching new mortgage products, new branches or merging with other aligned institutions."
The credit union has also introduced new products aimed at making everyday banking easier for members. That included new checking and savings options, as well as tools designed to help members build savings over time.
"In 2025, we launched products like the Texans Two-Step checking account, enhanced our Performance Money Market account and introduced Texans Round-Up, which allows members to automatically direct spare change toward savings or charitable giving," McWethy said. "We also returned more than $30 million in dividends to members in 2025, which is the cooperative model working exactly the way it should."
Joyce Moed can be reached at joyce.moed@arc-network.com.
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