WASHINGTON—The nation’s credit unions collectively added more than $125 billion in assets and nearly 2.5 million members during 2026, according to new data from NCUA.
Overall, federally insured credit unions ended 2025 with stronger earnings, even as loan delinquencies edged higher and the number of institutions continued to decline due to consolidation, according to the new Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary from the agency.
The Summary shows the industry held $2.43 trillion in total assets at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of $126 billion, or 5.4%, from a year earlier. Total loans outstanding rose $76 billion, or 4.6%, to $1.72 trillion.
Federally insured credit unions served 144.7 million members at year-end, an increase of 2.4 million over the previous year. The number of institutions continued to decline, falling to 4,287 from 4,455 a year earlier. Of those, 2,686 were federally chartered credit unions and 1,601 were state-chartered but federally insured institutions.
Performance by Category
Here’s how credit unions performed by category.
Earnings
Earnings improved significantly. Net income for the credit union system totaled $18.8 billion in 2025, up $4.5 billion, or 31.5%, from 2024. The return on average assets rose to 0.79%, compared with 0.63% a year earlier, while the median return across credit unions was 0.72%.
Net Interest Margin
The industry’s net interest margin widened to $80.4 billion, or 3.39% of average assets, compared with $71.2 billion, or 3.12%, the year before. Interest income climbed 7.3% to $123.6 billion, while interest expense declined slightly to $43.2 billion.
Total Shares & Deposits
Total shares and deposits grew by $108.4 billion, or 5.5%, to $2.07 trillion. Insured shares and deposits alone increased $83 billion, or 4.7%, to $1.86 trillion. Average deposit balances rose to $14,288, up $522 from a year earlier.
Net Worth
The credit union system’s net worth rose $18.7 billion to $274 billion, lifting the net worth ratio to 11.26%, compared with 11.07% a year earlier.
Loan Growth
Loan growth was driven primarily by residential and commercial lending. Loans secured by one- to four-family residential properties increased $55.5 billion, or 7.4%, to $804.1 billion. Commercial loans rose $18.9 billion, or 10.9%, to $192.9 billion, and credit card balances increased $2.6 billion, or 3.1%, to $87.8 billion.
Auto Lending
Auto lending weakened slightly overall. Total auto loans declined by $1.3 billion to $480.1 billion, as new auto loans fell 2.3% while used auto loans grew modestly. Non-federally guaranteed student loans also declined, falling 5.9% to $6.5 billion.
Credit Quality
Credit quality showed mixed trends. The overall delinquency rate rose to 1.03% in the fourth quarter, up five basis points from the same period in 2024. Non-commercial real estate delinquency rose to 0.88%, and commercial loan delinquency increased to 0.98%. Credit card delinquency was largely unchanged at about 2.15%, while the auto loan delinquency rate held steady at roughly 0.96%.
Charge-Off Ratio
Despite the uptick in delinquencies, the net charge-off ratio declined slightly to 0.78% of average loans, down two basis points from the prior year.
The credit union system’s provision for loan and lease losses or credit loss expense increased $0.1 billion, or 0.7%, over the year to $14.4 billion in 2025.
Expenses
Expenses also increased. Non-interest expenses climbed $4.7 billion, or 6.8%, to $74 billion, with employee compensation and benefits rising $2.6 billion and accounting for roughly half the increase, the agency reported.
Loan Balances & Loan to Share Ratio
Other indicators pointed to continued growth in credit union scale. The average outstanding loan balance increased to $19,397, up $984 from the prior year. The loan-to-share ratio stood at 83.2%, slightly lower than the 84% recorded a year earlier.
LICU & Complex CUs
The report also found that the number of credit unions designated as low-income institutions declined slightly to 2,390, though they accounted for about 56% of all federally insured credit unions. Meanwhile, the number of “complex” credit unions—those with more than $500 million in assets—rose to 739 from 728 a year earlier.
