adminNCUA approved 46 credit union mergers in the second quarter, which is less than the 54 mergers approved by the federal agency in the first quarter of 2016.
This data is quite an improvement in comparison to second quarters in years past. In the second quarter of 2015, there were 72 mergers, 70 in 2014, and 62 in 2013. Despite the lower number of consolidations in Q2, on an annual basis, mergers have occurred at a consistently elevated rate of about 250 to 260 consolidations per year since 2001. The total number of yearly mergers has remained relatively steady, even as the number of total credit unions continues to decline, according to a white paper recently published by the Southeast CUNA Management School, which outlines advantages and disadvantages of the industry’s consolidation.
This report also discusses whether members of merged credit unions think consolidations have added value and improved their financial lives. The results of this original research will be highlighted in the upcoming print edition of the Aug. 24 edition of the CU Times.
Among the 46 mergers in the second quarter, 36 were approved by the NCUA for expanded services. Five credit unions were consolidated due to poor financial condition, while two credit unions were merged because of lack of growth and one for lack of members. Lastly, two were approved to merge because they were unable to find a new CEO. Read more on the article at CU Times.
