Merger and acquisition activity could be spurring credit union members to take their business elsewhere, according to the results of a new Gallup poll.

Customers tend leave at much higher rates from financial institutions that were acquired (8%) compared with the average annual attrition rate across the industry (5%), Gallup said. The results were based on a survey of 9,219 adults conducted between Sept. 14 and Oct. 25, 2011 and again on June 11 to June 25, 2014.

The loss of members and deposits can be especially devastating if the financial institution already has low customer engagement, Gallup Analytics Principal Researcher Sean Williams noted. If the acquiring institution has higher engagement than the target institution does, the attrition rate is 6%, he said. But if the acquiring financial institution has lower engagement than the target institution, attrition rises to 10% – twice the national average.