Vermont's 13 credit unions entered 2026-Q1 with standout momentum: asset growth accelerated to 11.24% (up from 4.16% in 2025-Q1 and 6.77% in 2025-Q4), and member growth hit 4.15%, far outpacing the national contraction of -0.65%. Yet profitability is eroding — ROA fell to 0.34% from 0.57% last quarter and 0.52% a year ago, now 33 bps below the national 0.67%. Delinquency climbed to 1.28%, 51 bps above national. Rapid expansion is straining capital and credit quality, raising questions about whether this growth pace is sustainable.
✦ Q1 2026 · First Look
Vermont Credit Unions
VT Credit Unions
VT Credit Unions Post Strong Growth and Member Gains, But Delinquencies and Falling ROA Signal Mounting Pressure
Key Insights
Year-over-Year Changes
Asset Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q1
→
2026-Q1
4.16% → 11.24%
(+7.08%)
Share Certificate Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▼
2025-Q1
→
2026-Q1
22.94% → 21.76%
(-1.18%)
First Mortgage Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▼
2025-Q1
→
2026-Q1
33.81% → 30.30%
(-3.51%)
Indirect Auto Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q1
→
2026-Q1
4.80% → 5.52%
(+0.72%)
Member Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q1
→
2026-Q1
2.73% → 4.15%
(+1.42%)
Quarter-over-Quarter Changes
Asset Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q4
→
2026-Q1
6.77% → 11.24%
(+4.47%)
Share Certificate Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▼
2025-Q4
→
2026-Q1
22.97% → 21.76%
(-1.22%)
First Mortgage Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▼
2025-Q4
→
2026-Q1
31.63% → 30.30%
(-1.33%)
Indirect Auto Concentration (%) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q4
→
2026-Q1
5.23% → 5.52%
(+0.28%)
Loan Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
▲
2025-Q4
→
2026-Q1
5.97% → 7.76%
(+1.80%)
Key Metrics
Return on Assets
0.34%
▼ YoY33 basis points below national
Net Interest Margin
4.16%
— YoY46 basis points above national
Asset Growth
11.24%
▲ YoYMember Growth
4.15%
Delinquency Rate
1.28%
▲ YoYNet Worth Ratio
10.47%
AMR Growth
-1.83%
Deposit Growth
10.13%
Loan Growth
7.76%
— YoYMember Engagement
Member Growth (YoY %)
Member engagement is a clear bright spot for Vermont credit unions in 2026-Q1. Member growth accelerated to 4.15%, up from 3.13% in 2025-Q4 (a gain of 1.02 pp QoQ) and up from 2.73% in 2025-Q1 (a gain of 1.42 pp YoY). This positions the cohort 4.79 percentage points above the national benchmark of -0.65%, which is itself in contraction territory. The sustained acceleration across both timeframes signals genuine community traction, though the challenge will be converting membership gains into profitable, long-term relationships as cost pressures mount.
Profitability
Return on Assets (%)
Net Interest Margin (%)
Profitability is deteriorating on both timeframes, presenting a significant concern. ROA decreased to 0.34% in 2026-Q1, down 0.23 pp from 0.57% in 2025-Q4 and down 0.18 pp from 0.52% in 2025-Q1 — now 33 basis points below the national benchmark of 0.67%. NIM offers a partial offset: it increased 9 bps QoQ to 4.16% from 4.07% in 2025-Q4 and is effectively stable YoY (up just 1 bp from 4.15% in 2025-Q1), sitting 46 bps above the national 3.70%. Strong NIM has not been sufficient to prevent the ROA slide, suggesting rising provision or operating costs are the primary drag.
Growth
Asset Growth (YoY %)
Member Growth (YoY %)
Growth metrics are the cohort's headline story. Asset growth accelerated sharply to 11.24% in 2026-Q1, up from 6.77% in 2025-Q4 (+4.47 pp QoQ) and from 4.16% in 2025-Q1 (+7.08 pp YoY), placing Vermont credit unions 8.60 percentage points above the national benchmark of 2.64%. Loan growth also accelerated to 7.76% in 2026-Q1 from 5.97% in 2025-Q4 (+1.80 pp QoQ), now 7.45 pp above the national 0.31%. YoY loan growth data is unavailable for direct comparison, but the QoQ trajectory is unambiguously upward, underscoring robust lending demand across the state.
Risk & Credit Quality
Delinquency Rate (%)
Net Worth Ratio (%)
The risk profile has worsened meaningfully across both timeframes. Delinquency increased to 1.28% in 2026-Q1, up 0.37 pp from 0.91% in 2025-Q4 and up 0.33 pp from 0.96% in 2025-Q1 — now 51 basis points above the national benchmark of 0.78%. Net worth decreased to 10.47% from 10.79% in 2025-Q4 (-0.32 pp QoQ) and from 11.14% in 2025-Q1 (-0.67 pp YoY), leaving the cohort 3.14 percentage points below the national 13.61%. The combination of rising delinquency and declining capital cushion amid aggressive asset expansion warrants close monitoring by management and regulators alike.
Portfolio Mix
First Mortgage (%)
Indirect Auto (%)
Share Certificates (%)
Vermont credit unions are reshaping their portfolio composition. First mortgage concentration decreased to 30.30% in 2026-Q1 from 31.63% in 2025-Q4 (-1.33 pp QoQ) and from 33.81% in 2025-Q1 (-3.51 pp YoY), though at 30.30% it remains well above the national 22.15%. Indirect auto exposure increased modestly to 5.52% from 5.23% in 2025-Q4 (+0.28 pp QoQ) and from 4.80% in 2025-Q1 (+0.72 pp YoY), still below the national 7.73%. Certificate concentration decreased to 21.76% from 22.97% in 2025-Q4 (-1.22 pp QoQ) and from 22.94% in 2025-Q1 (-1.18 pp YoY), slightly above the national 19.80%.
Strategic Implications
- • Rapid asset growth of 11.24% — more than four times the national rate — demands proactive capital planning, as net worth has already slipped 0.67 pp YoY to 10.47%, well below the national 13.61%.
- • Delinquency rising to 1.28%, 51 bps above national, alongside aggressive loan growth of 7.76% suggests underwriting standards and collections capacity must scale in parallel with the loan book.
- • The 4.79 pp member growth advantage over a nationally contracting membership base is a durable competitive differentiator — Vermont CUs should invest now in onboarding and cross-sell infrastructure to monetize this inflow.
- • NIM of 4.16%, holding 46 bps above national despite rate pressures, provides a margin buffer, but the ROA collapse to 0.34% signals that non-interest expenses or provisions are consuming the spread advantage.
- • The deliberate reduction in first mortgage concentration (-3.51 pp YoY) paired with rising indirect auto exposure suggests a strategic pivot toward shorter-duration, higher-yield assets — a posture worth evaluating against the worsening delinquency trend.
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Notable Patterns
How This Cohort Compares to National
Asset Growth (annual) is 8.6pp above national
First Mortgage Share is 8.1pp above national
Loan Growth (annual) is 7.4pp above national
Member Growth (annual) is 4.8pp above national
Net Worth Ratio is 3.1pp below national
Data Quality Notes
4 metric(s) had extreme values filtered using MAD-based, z-score > 5.0.
Member Growth (YoY) (Absolute)
1 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 12.77% →
Cleaned average: 4.15%
View excluded credit unions
- GREEN MOUNTAIN (63859) - 116.26%
Net Worth Ratio (Absolute)
1 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 11.68% →
Cleaned average: 10.47%
View excluded credit unions
- CENTRAL VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER,INC. (65090) - 26.18%
Return on Assets (ROA) (Absolute)
1 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: -0.00% →
Cleaned average: 0.34%
View excluded credit unions
- ST. PATRICK'S PARISH (65091) - -4.12%
Total Delinquency Rate (60+ days) (Absolute)
1 CU(s) excluded
Raw average: 1.56% →
Cleaned average: 1.28%
View excluded credit unions
- CENTRAL VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER,INC. (65090) - 4.87%