NCUA: Number of credit unions continues decline, but membership is up

The number of federally insured credit unions declined to 4,604 institutions in the fourth quarter of 2023, a drop of 156 financial institutions from a year ago, the National Credit Union Administration said Tuesday.  Of the total, there were 2,880 federal credit unions and 1,724 federally insured, state-chartered institutions.

The number of credit unions with a low-income designation also decreased to 2,483, a drop of 129 institutions from a year ago.

Although the number of federal credit unions continued to decrease, their membership continued to increase. Federally insured credit unions added four million members compared with a year ago, reaching 139.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to agency statistics.

In releasing the fourth quarter financial report, NCUA Chairman Todd Harper said that the credit union system remains strong, but that there are continued signs of consumer economic stress. “The credit union system remains largely stable in its performance and remains resilient against a challenging interest rate and economic environment,” he said. “However, the NCUA continues to see signs of financial strain on credit union balance sheets, along with growing consumer financial stress as reflected in the rising delinquency rate shown in the latest data.”

 

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