Size Is No Longer A Shield

The $285 Million Shift: Size Is No Longer a Shield

The average credit union that merged in 2025 had $285 million in assets.

In 2018, that number was $36 million.

That is roughly an eight-fold increase in the average size of a merging credit union in just seven years. I pulled thirty quarters of NCUA merger data and that trend is one of the most striking things in the dataset.

For years, credit union leaders assumed that reaching a certain size offered protection—that scale was a buffer against merger pressure. The data now says otherwise. Size used to be a reasonable proxy for institutional resilience. It is increasingly less reliable as one.

If your credit union is under $285 million in assets and you cannot clearly articulate why remaining independent serves your members better than consolidating, someone is likely having that conversation about you—even if no one has called yet.

That's not meant to scare you—it's meant to get you thinking: invest in your value proposition, demonstrate member growth, and document why your credit union exists independently. The best defense against an unwanted merger conversation is a compelling strategic story.

If you would like help thinking through your regulatory posture or examining what NCUA might be looking at, reach out to us at Credit Union Exam Solutions.