MADISON, Wis.–TruStage’s newest Trends Report offers deeper insights into how credit unions have been performing across various categories on both sides of the balance sheet, along with a look at the number of CUs themselves and members.
The CU Daily has separate reporting on TruStage’s economic forecast for credit unions, authored by Chief Economist Steve Rick, here.
Here’s a look at what the report reveals.
Auto Lending Remains Weak
The report identified new auto lending as one of the industry’s weakest segments.
Credit union new auto loan balances declined 5% in December on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis and have remained in negative territory since August 2023. TruStage attributed the weakness to high interest rates, recession concerns, tighter underwriting standards and rapid amortization of loans originated during the vehicle-buying boom of 2021 through 2023.
New vehicle sales rose 3.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.3 million vehicles but remained below the 17 million-unit level considered market equilibrium.
The Trends Report noted that approximately 30% of borrowers currently have negative equity in their vehicles, averaging roughly $7,200. Many borrowers are rolling existing debt into new loans and financing approximately $12,000 more than a typical new-car buyer.
TruStage expects new vehicle sales to decline from 16.1 million units in 2025 to 15.8 million units in 2026 because of weak job growth, higher borrowing costs, rising vehicle prices and higher gasoline prices.
Mortgage Lending Strengthens
Mortgage lending improved during 2025 as interest rates moderated.
Credit union fixed-rate first-mortgage balances rose 2.9% during the year, compared with only 0.1% growth in 2024. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, mortgage balances increased 4.9% at year-end 2025.
Mortgage rates fell to 6.19% in December 2025 from 6.72% a year earlier, helping stimulate activity. Even so, housing affordability remains near its weakest level in almost four decades and existing-home sales remain near lows last seen during the financial crisis.
Home prices rose 0.9% year-over-year in January 2026, according to data cited from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. However, TruStage expects appreciation to slow to between 0% and 1% during 2026.
Savings Growth Faces Headwinds
The report said weak consumer savings rates have created challenges for deposit growth.
The personal savings rate averaged 4.7% during 2025, below the historical average of 5%. In February 2026, consumers saved only 4.1% of disposable income, down from 4.9% a year earlier.
TruStage attributed the decline partly to consumers exhausting savings accumulated during the pandemic, when government stimulus programs and reduced spending opportunities temporarily boosted savings rates.
The report forecasts the savings rate will recover to approximately 5% later in 2026 as consumers rebuild precautionary savings and react to greater stock-market volatility.
According to TruStage, lower savings rates have also contributed to higher long-term interest rates because financial institutions have fewer deposits available to purchase government securities.
Capital and Earnings Improve
Credit unions ended 2025 in a stronger financial position.
The industry’s equity-to-asset ratio increased to 10.4% from 9.7% at year-end 2024. Equity rose $27.9 billion during 2025 due to a $10.9 billion reduction in unrealized securities losses and $16.9 billion in net income.
Credit union earnings also improved.
Return on assets increased to 0.76% in 2025 from 0.61% in 2024, while return on equity reached 6.7%, although that remained below the 30-year average of 7.4%. The report attributed stronger profitability primarily to expanding net interest margins.
TruStage forecasts return on assets will improve to 0.80% in 2026 and 0.85% in 2027 due to rising net interest margins, stronger fee income and lower loan-loss expenses.
The industry’s net worth ratio is projected to increase to 11.4% in both 2026 and 2027. Delinquency rates are forecast to stabilize near 1.0% during 2026 before improving to 0.9% in 2027, while net charge-off rates are expected to decline from 0.80% in 2026 to 0.75% in 2027.
Membership Continues to Grow
Credit union membership reached approximately 146 million at the end of 2025, up 1.6% from one year earlier and equal to roughly 43% of the U.S. population. Memberships grew at a 2.0% seasonally adjusted annualized rate in December, an improvement from the 1.1% pace recorded at the end of 2024.
The industry added approximately 2.3 million members during 2025, exceeding overall U.S. population growth of 1.8 million people. TruStage said the data indicate credit unions continue to gain market share from banks and other depository institutions.
Membership growth, however, remains below the long-term average of 3.5%, largely because of weak consumer lending demand and slower job creation. The economy added only 116,000 jobs during 2025, according to figures cited from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with nearly 1.5 million jobs in 2024.
TruStage expects membership growth to remain modest at 1.8% in 2026 and 2.0% in 2027.
Industry Consolidation Continues
As has been a long-running trend, the report also highlighted continued consolidation within the credit union system.
The number of credit unions declined from 4,637 at year-end 2024 to 4,374 at year-end 2025. Despite fewer institutions, industry assets increased to $2.456 trillion, shares and deposits grew to $2.088 trillion and equity climbed to $255.4 billion. The industry’s loan-to-share ratio stood at 83.2% at year-end, while the equity-to-asset ratio reached 10.4%.
Looking ahead, TruStage said credit unions are positioned for stronger growth than they experienced during the past two years, although persistent inflation, elevated interest rates and geopolitical risks are expected to keep growth below long-term industry averages.
