ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Credit unions posted stronger asset, deposit and loan growth during the first quarter of 2026, but the industry's membership challenges persisted, with more than half of federally insured credit unions reporting fewer members than a year earlier, according to new state-level data released by the NCUA.
The NCUA's Quarterly U.S. Map Review found median asset growth accelerated to 2.8% during the year ending March 31, up from 1.9% a year earlier, while median share and deposit growth improved to 2.4% from 1.8%. Loan growth also returned to positive territory, rising 0.6% after declining 0.3% during the prior year. Nationally, the median loan-to-share ratio stood at 68%, down slightly from 69% a year earlier.
Despite those gains, membership remained a weak spot. While aggregate membership continued to increase nationwide, median membership declined 0.5% for the second consecutive year, with approximately 55% of federally insured credit unions reporting fewer members than they had a year earlier. According to the NCUA, credit unions experiencing membership declines tended to be smaller institutions, with more than half holding less than $50 million in assets.
The report also showed modest improvement in profitability, with 85% of federally insured credit unions reporting positive year-to-date net income during the first quarter, up from 84% a year earlier. Median return on average assets rose to 66 basis points from 62 basis points, although asset quality weakened somewhat as the median delinquency rate increased to 63 basis points from 58 basis points a year earlier.
A Closer Look At The Data
Highlights
- Nationally, assets in federally insured credit unions increased by 2.8 percent at the median over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026. In other words, half of all federally insured credit unions had asset growth at or above 2.8 percent and half had asset growth of 2.8 percent or less. During the year ending in the first quarter of 2025, the median growth rate in assets was 1.9 percent.
- Over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, median asset growth was fastest in Nevada and Wyoming (both 6.4 percent), followed by Vermont (5.9 percent).
- At the median, assets declined in Washington, D.C. (-2.3 percent) and grew the least in Nebraska (0.1 percent) over the year.
Highlights
- Nationally, shares and deposits increased by 2.4 percent at the median over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026. During the year ending in the first quarter of 2025, the median growth rate in shares and deposits was 1.8 percent.
- Over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, median growth in shares and deposits was fastest in Nevada and Vermont (both 6.3 percent), followed by Alaska (6.0 percent).
- At the median, shares and deposits declined in Washington, D.C. (-1.5 percent), Nebraska (-1.0 percent), New Jersey (-0.8 percent), and Arkansas (-0.7 percent) over the year.
Highlights
- While membership continued to grow in the aggregate over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, at the median, membership declined by 0.5 percent. Membership also declined by 0.5 percent at the median over the year ending in the first quarter of 2025. Overall, about 55 percent of federally insured credit unions had fewer members at the end of the first quarter of 2026 than a year earlier. Credit unions with falling membership tend to be small; over half had less than $50 million in assets in the first quarter of 2026.
- Over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, credit unions headquartered in Vermont (3.4 percent) and Alaska (2.0 percent) experienced the strongest median membership growth.
- At the median, membership declined in thirty-five states over the year. New Jersey (-1.8 percent) and Arkansas (-1.7 percent) saw the largest median decline in membership.
Highlights
- Nationally, loans outstanding grew by 0.6 percent at the median over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026. Over the previous year, loans declined by 0.3 percent at the median.
- Over the year ending in the first quarter of 2026, median loan growth was strongest in Vermont (5.4 percent) and Idaho (4.9 percent).
- At the median, loans outstanding declined in Washington, D.C. and seventeen states over the year, led by Washington, D.C. (-4.5 percent) and West Virginia ( 3.7 percent).
Highlights
- At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the median total delinquency rate among federally insured credit unions was 63 basis points, compared with 58 basis points at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
- At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the median delinquency rate was highest in Washington, D.C. (127 basis points) and Delaware (111 basis points).
- The median delinquency rate was lowest in North Dakota (24 basis points) and Rhode Island (30 basis points) at that time.
Highlights
Loan-to-share ratios are rounded to the nearest percentage point.
- Nationally, the median ratio of total loans outstanding to total shares and deposits - the loan-to-share ratio - was 68 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2026. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the median loan-to-share ratio was 69 percent.
- The median loan-to-share ratio was highest in Idaho (86 percent) at the end of the first quarter of 2026, followed by Alaska, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin (all 83 percent).
- The median loan-to-share ratio was lowest in Delaware (43 percent) and New Jersey (49 percent) at that time.
Highlights
- Nationally, the median annualized return on average assets at federally insured credit unions was 66 basis points in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 62 basis points in the first quarter of 2025.
- Wyoming (104 basis points) and Nevada (97 basis points) had the highest median annualized return on average assets in the first quarter of 2026.
- Washington, D.C. (25 basis points) and New Jersey (26 basis points) had the lowest median annualized return on average assets at that time.
Highlights
Shares of credit unions with positive net income are rounded to the nearest percentage point.
- Nationally, 85 percent of federally insured credit unions had positive year-to-date net income in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 84 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
- In the first quarter of 2026, the share of federally insured credit unions with positive year-to-date net income was highest in Alaska, Main, Nevada, and New Hampshire (all 100 percent), followed by Hawaii (98 percent).
- The share was lowest in Delaware (67 percent) at that time, followed by New Jersey and Washington, D.C. (both 72 percent).