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For years, credit union membership growth was one of the clearest signals of the movement’s strength. That momentum is beginning to shift.
Annual membership growth in the first quarter slowed to 1.81%; that’s one of the weakest levels in years. Some institutions even reported quarterly declines. Perhaps counterintuitively, though, this isn’t a story of disengagement. Consumers are still borrowing, saving, and opening accounts. What’s changed is how they build relationships.
Consumers are increasingly spreading their financial activity across multiple providers, making it harder for credit unions to capture primary relationships. At the same time, credit unions are pulling back from traditional acquisition channels like indirect auto lending, further reducing membership inflow.
Yet the industry is still growing. Loan and share growth remain relatively strong, thanks not to new members but deeper relationships with existing ones. As credit unions shift from growing headcount to fattening wallet share, they must focus on achieving PFI status as much as on attracting members in the first place.
MEMBER GROWTH VS. SHARE GROWTH VS. LOAN GROWTH
FOR U.S. CREDIT UNIONS | DATA AS OF 03.31.26
SOURCE: CALLAHAN & ASSOCIATES
- Membership growth in the first quarter of 2026 slowed to 1.81%, marking a steady decline from prior years.
- Loan growth has picked up after a sharp post-peak decline. It was 5.13% as of March 31, signaling steady borrowing demand.
- Share growth has normalized from elevated pandemic-era levels and has settled around 4.66%, reflecting a more typical deposit environment.
- Loans and shares are growing two to three times as fast as membership, indicating new members are no longer driving growth. Instead, the industry is shifting toward deeper relationships.
When members know you care, they stay. As financial relationships fragment across providers, the credit unions earning PFI status are building emotional trust as much as they’re competing on rates or products. Gallup research shows emotionally engaged members are 5.4 times more likely to stay and 2.5 times more likely to hold multiple products, exactly the depth of relationship credit unions need most right now. Learn more.