WASHINGTON—Under the headline “Behind the Numbers: The True Cost of Credit Union Acquisitions,” the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has published a new blog post based on a data analysis it said shows that when credit unions buy banks, small businesses and local communities are harmed.
The post, authored by ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey, noted that the ICBA and community bankers have “long warned about the dangers of tax-exempt credit unions acquiring tax-paying community banks, a concerning trend that peaked last year and has continued in 2025.”
‘Exhaustive Analysis’
“Now, the results of an exhaustive ICBA data analysis of publicly available data validate what we have long warned: This recent explosion of taxpayer-subsidized acquisitions is harming small businesses and local communities while community banks outperform credit unions in high-poverty areas,” Romero Rainey wrote.
The blog post continued, “Given how strenuously ICBA and community bankers have been raising the flag on this trend, its scope should come as no surprise. Since 2010, credit unions have acquired 77 community bank charters with less than $50 billion in assets—with more than 60% of these charter acquisitions (49) occurring in the past five years, according to FDIC and Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council data.
‘More Revealing’
“Even more revealing, our data show these deals involve the largest credit unions, which often cross state lines to acquire community banks well outside their field of membership. Since 2010, more than 80% of charter acquisitions involved a credit union with more than $1 billion in assets, while more than 40% involved a credit union headquartered in a different state than the acquired bank.
“And counter to credit union industry claims, credit union acquirers aren’t saving struggling community banks. Nearly two-thirds of acquired banks saw an increase in net operating income in the five years leading up to their acquisition, while more than three in four grew their total assets in that five-year period.
‘The Data is Clear’
“The data is clear: These tax-subsidized entities are using their members’ shares to purchase well-performing institutions (and eliminating local, tax-paying community banks in the process).”
The full blog post, which concludes, “As our data clearly show, the economic outlook for our nation’s local communities depends on a much-needed change to federal credit union policy,” can be found here.
