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Credit Union Member Growth Hits 2.8% in The Third Quarter

Last year’s Bank Transfer Day has helped drive consumers to credit unions though 2012, and the industry is now reporting even stronger member growth than it did last year. Preliminary quarterly data shows credit union membership grew 2.8% from September 2011 to September 2012; that’s faster than the 2.3% annual pace posted in June 2012 or the 0.7% pace posted in the third quarter of 2011.

With almost a full month until the official NCUA data release, Callahan’s FirstLook data set represents the most complete set of 3Q 2012 credit union industry data available to the public. As soon as data is available, Callahan & Associates identifies key trends and posts performance analysis on CreditUnions.com.

The influx of new members brought with it growth in core deposits. Share drafts and regular shares increased at double-digit rates annually, 11.1% and 12.4%, respectively. More than half of credit union members — 51.0% — have share drafts. This is a year-over-year increase of 1.8%. The increase in share draft penetration bodes well for credit unions, as it shows credit unions are building deeper relationships with members gained over the past year.

“As the 3Q12 numbers are showing, credit unions have momentum as we head into 2013,” says Jay Johnson, executive vice president of Callahan & Associates. “The cooperative model can play an even larger role in the coming years with its consumer-first approach.”

FirstLook data analysis will continue to be available on CreditUnions.com. As a complement to this data, Callahan & Associates is hosting the quarterly Trendwatch event on November 15 at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT.  Register for this session to enjoy a more in-depth discussion of 3Q 2012 credit union performance and general economic trends.  Register Now!

As more data is released, Callahan & Associates will continue to post information and in-depth analysis of key 3Q12 trends on CreditUnions.com

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