National Credit Union Analysis

National Credit Union Industry

2025-Q3 4419 Credit Unions

Credit Union Industry Shows Steady Progress with Accelerating Growth and Rising Profitability in Q3 2025

The national credit union industry demonstrated resilient performance in Q3 2025, with asset growth accelerating to 2.54% from 2.34% quarter-over-quarter and loan growth turning positive at 0.20% after contracting 0.31% in Q2. Profitability metrics strengthened with ROA increasing to 0.78% from 0.74% quarterly and climbing from 0.70% year-over-year, while NIM expanded 6 basis points quarterly to 3.72%. Member growth remained stable at -0.61%, showing minimal quarterly improvement. Portfolio shifts favored certificates and first mortgages while indirect auto lending declined, positioning credit unions for continued margin expansion.

Key Insights

Year-over-Year Changes

Share Certificate Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2024-Q3 2025-Q3
18.45% → 19.60% (+6.18%)
First Mortgage Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2024-Q3 2025-Q3
21.36% → 21.76% (+1.87%)
Indirect Auto Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2024-Q3 2025-Q3
8.14% → 7.90% (-2.93%)
Net Interest Margin (NIM) (Absolute)
2024-Q3 2025-Q3
3.55% → 3.72% (+0.18%)
Net Worth Ratio (Absolute)
2024-Q3 2025-Q3
13.23% → 13.68% (+0.45%)

Quarter-over-Quarter Changes

Share Certificate Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2025-Q2 2025-Q3
19.15% → 19.60% (+2.31%)
First Mortgage Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2025-Q2 2025-Q3
21.61% → 21.76% (+0.71%)
Indirect Auto Concentration (%) (Absolute)
2025-Q2 2025-Q3
7.98% → 7.90% (-0.96%)
Asset Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
2025-Q2 2025-Q3
2.34% → 2.54% (+0.21%)
Deposit Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
2025-Q2 2025-Q3
2.17% → 2.32% (+0.15%)

Key Metrics

Return on Assets

0.78%

YoY
0 basis points below national
Profitability

Net Interest Margin

3.72%

YoY
0 basis points below national
Profitability

Asset Growth

2.54%

YoY
Growth

Member Growth

-0.61%

Growth

Delinquency Rate

0.85%

YoY
Risk

Net Worth Ratio

13.68%

Risk

AMR Growth

1.98%

Engagement
Insufficient historical data for trend visualization

Deposit Growth

2.32%

YoY
Growth
Insufficient historical data for trend visualization

Loan Growth

0.20%

YoY
Growth

Member Engagement

Member Growth (YoY %)

Member engagement remained challenging with growth at -0.61% in Q3 2025, showing minimal quarterly improvement from -0.65% in Q2 but representing a significant decline from 2.26% growth in Q3 2024. The stable quarterly trend suggests membership contraction may be moderating across the industry.

Profitability

Return on Assets (%)

Net Interest Margin (%)

Profitability showed steady improvement with ROA reaching 0.78%, up 4 basis points from Q2 2025's 0.74% and climbing 9 basis points from 0.70% in Q3 2024. Net interest margin expanded 6 basis points quarterly to 3.72% and increased 18 basis points year-over-year, reflecting effective rate management.

Growth

Asset Growth (YoY %)

Member Growth (YoY %)

Growth momentum accelerated across key metrics in Q3 2025. Asset growth accelerated to 2.54% from 2.34% quarterly, while loan growth turned positive at 0.20% after contracting 0.31% in Q2. Deposit growth also accelerated to 2.32% from 2.17% quarterly, indicating broad-based expansion.

Risk & Credit Quality

Delinquency Rate (%)

Net Worth Ratio (%)

Risk metrics remained well-controlled with delinquency rates stable at 0.85%, up just 2 basis points quarterly from 0.83% and 4 basis points year-over-year from 0.81%. Net worth strengthened to 13.68%, increasing 24 basis points quarterly and 45 basis points annually, reflecting solid capital accumulation.

Portfolio Mix

First Mortgage (%)

Indirect Auto (%)

Share Certificates (%)

Portfolio composition shifted toward higher-yielding assets with certificate concentration rising to 19.60%, up 45 basis points quarterly and 115 basis points year-over-year. First mortgage lending increased to 21.76% while indirect auto declined to 7.90%, reflecting strategic repositioning toward margin-enhancing products.

Strategic Implications

  • Accelerating loan growth signals improving credit demand and lending capacity recovery after Q2 contraction
  • Rising certificate concentrations indicate successful deposit pricing strategies to defend funding base
  • Expanding net interest margins provide cushion for continued member acquisition investments despite current headwinds
  • Stable risk metrics support capacity for strategic lending expansion in higher-yield portfolio segments

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Notable Patterns

Tier Divergences

Total Assets: Tiers moving opposite directions (Mid-Market, Titans up vs Community, Large down)

Total Members: Tiers moving opposite directions (Large, Titans up vs Community, Mid-Market down)

First Mortgage Pct (Quarterly): 2048pp spread (Large at +2080.7% vs Titans at +32.9%)

Regional Outliers

KY: Assets Per Member (quarterly) is 7054pp below national (also 1 other states)

FL: Fee Income Per Member (quarterly) is 1362pp above national (also 1 other states)

HI: Assets Per Member (annual) is 733pp above national (also 4 other states)

Data Quality Notes

8 metric(s) had extreme values filtered using MAD-based, z-score > 5.0.

Total Delinquency Rate (60+ days) (Absolute) 207 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 1.23% → Cleaned average: 0.85%
View excluded credit unions
Net Worth Ratio (Absolute) 118 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 14.51% → Cleaned average: 13.68%
View excluded credit unions
Member Growth (YoY) (Absolute) 102 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 9.37% → Cleaned average: -0.61%
View excluded credit unions
Return on Assets (ROA) (Absolute) 102 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 0.71% → Cleaned average: 0.78%
View excluded credit unions
Asset Growth (YoY) (Absolute) 42 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 3.04% → Cleaned average: 2.54%
View excluded credit unions
Deposit Growth (YoY) (Absolute) 39 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 12.00% → Cleaned average: 2.32%
View excluded credit unions
Loan Growth (YoY) (Absolute) 31 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 36.38% → Cleaned average: 0.20%
View excluded credit unions
Net Interest Margin (NIM) (Absolute) 15 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 3.74% → Cleaned average: 3.72%
View excluded credit unions
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