5 trends that shaped the credit union industry in 2025

• Key insight: Despite what was in many ways a tumultuous year, credit unions added members, loans and deposits according to the NCUA’s most recent quarterly statistics. 
• Expert quote: Former NCUA Chairman Todd Harper characterized his firing by  President Trump as “a violation of “the bipartisan statutory framework adopted by Congress to protect credit union members and their deposits.”
• Supporting data: NCUA reported 121 mergers among credit unions through the first nine months of 2025, level with 2024’s results through September.

A tumultuous 2025 for credit unions was highlighted by disarray at the industry’s governing body and banks’ renewed attack on the sector’s income-tax exemption.

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Credit unions fared well financially despite all that, reaching new record levels of assets, deposits, loans and members at the end of the third quarter. But like banks, credit unions continued to grapple with consolidation, as the number of mergers far outstripped the formation of de novo institutions. The National Credit Union Administration reported 4,331 federally insured credit unions as of Sept. 30, down more than 900 from the same time in 2019.

Here’s a look at five major issues that impacted credit unions in 2025.

Consolidation mirrors the 2024 trend

Credit unions merged with each other at the same pace in 2025 that they did the previous year, with 121 deals involving credit unions reported through the first three quarters of both years, according to National Credit Union Administration statistics. The assets involved in the deals were largely similar, too, totaling $11.7 billion in 2025 and $11.9 billion through the first nine months of 2024.

While most credit union mergers in 2025 fell on the small side, there were also some blockbusters. 

The $9.9 billion-asset ENT Credit Union in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the $9.7 billion-asset Wings Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minnesota, announced a merger of equals in April that’s scheduled to close on Jan. 1. The merged institution will operate under the Wings brand.

Meanwhile, in September, the $3.4 billion-asset Unify Financial Credit Union in Allen, Texas, announced plans to merge with the $5.3 billion-asset CommunityAmerica Credit Union in Lenexa, Kansas. That deal, which closed in November, created a $9 billion-asset institution. 

Bank deals remain a flashpoint

The pace of bank acquisitions by credit unions remained strong in 2025, though not quite as robust as in 2024. Credit unions have announced deals for 16 banks in 2025, according to S&P Global. That’s down from the record 22 in 2024, but still high by historical standards. 

Attorney Michael Bell, a partner at Honigman LLP and a leading advisor of credit unions seeking to acquire banks, has predicted another active year in 2026, even as bank industry trade groups continue to cry foul.

In a Dec. 10 op-ed, Independent Community Bankers of America CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote that credit unions have leveraged their tax-exempt status to acquire nearly 80 community banks since 2010. Romero Rainey called on Congress to end the income tax exemption for credit unions with more than $1 billion of assets. 

NCUA gets caught in a political fight

NCUA

For most of 2025, the NCUA’s governing board has been a party of one. President Donald Trump’s decision in April to fire two Democratic members left Republican Kyle Hauptman as the sole member. 

The dismissals of Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka were promptly challenged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In an April 16 statement, Harper called his termination a violation of “the bipartisan statutory framework adopted by Congress to protect credit union members and their deposits.” Harper served as the NCUA’s chairman from January 2021 to January 2025, when Hauptman succeeded him.

In a July 22 ruling, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali found that Congress protected board members from at-will dismissals. But the Justice Department promptly appealed the decision, and the case remains ongoing.

The NCUA’s board can function with a single member — former Chairman Dennis Dollar served as the sole member for a two-month stretch in 2002 — but Hauptman can only do so much on his own. The agency’s regulations require that rulemakings be approved by at least two members. 

De novo activity stays stuck in low gear

Much like in the banking industry, de novo growth of credit unions remains limited, with just three charters receiving final approval in 2025.

Heritage Hub Federal Credit Union, which serves the Houston area, received its charter in March. African Diaspora Federal Credit Union, headquartered in St. Louis and serving members of the African Diaspora Council, was chartered in May. Haven Federal Credit Union in Santa Clara, California, was chartered in December.  

The NCUA issued four new charters in 2024, including one to Tribe Federal Credit Union as part of an initiative that permits credit unions to receive a charter and open for business at a later date after raising operating capital.

Tribe completed its capitalization in September 2025 and launched digitally on Dec. 8. The credit union expects to open its first physical branch in February 2026.

Auto lending decline stretches on

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Historically, credit unions have been known for their willingness to make car loans, but the industry’s connection to auto lending appears locked in a long-term decline.

Credit unions reported auto loans totaling $482.4 billion at Sept. 30, 2025, representing about 28% of the industry’s $1.7 trillion loan portfolio, according to the NCUA. Seven years ago, at Sept. 30, 2018, auto lending represented nearly 36% of credit unions’ total loans.

The shift away from auto lending mirrors banking industry trends. A number of banks, including the $1 billion-asset Crescent Bank in New Orleans, have exited indirect auto finance in recent years.