Credit Union Branch Growth Slows in Q1

But announcements of new branches continues in the second quarter from Washington state to Long Island, N.Y.

Mountain America FCU’s new Snake River Parkway Branch in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Credit/Mountain America FCU

Credit unions expanded their branch footprint from December to March, but it was the smallest quarterly gain in more than a year.

NCUA data showed credit unions had 21,928 branches and other locations as of March 31, 146 more locations than a year earlier and 17 more since Dec. 31.

Credit unions added a net of 31 locations from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, which at the time was the smallest quarterly gain since only seven branches were added in the third quarter of 2022.

The bulk of the quarterly gain came from the West, which added 15 branches. The South had a net gain of five branches with gains in the Central South states being reduced by losses in the South Atlantic states. The Northeast showed no change and the Midwest had a net loss of three locations.

Credit unions lost 449 branches from December 2019 to December 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then have gained 362 branches.

Meanwhile, four more credit unions announced expansions in June, including Teachers Federal Credit Union of Hauppauge, N.Y. on Long Island ($9.9 billion in assets, 462,620 members as of March 31).

Teachers FCU announced June 11 it will open a branch next year in The Shops at SunVet in Holbrook, N.Y., seven miles east of Hauppauge. The former SunVet Mall, once a landmark in Holbrook, is being redeveloped into a 168,000-square-foot open-air shopping center.

Brad Calhoun

“We are thrilled to expand our presence on Long Island and be a part of this exciting new development aimed at revitalizing the Holbrook area,” Teachers President/CEO Brad Calhoun said. “Selecting The Shops at SunVet for our next branch location underscores our commitment to strategic growth and providing our members with increased convenience and flexibility as they partner with Teachers Federal Credit Union on their financial journeys.”

The three other expansions are by:

  1. University Federal Credit Union of Austin, Texas ($4.2 billion in assets, 379,855 members), which announced June 12 that it will open its first Houston branch later this year at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The branch will be within the UT Health Houston building, and will be the credit union’s first in Houston, where it has nearly 30,000 members.
  2. Mountain America Federal Credit Union of Salt Lake City ($19.3 billion in assets, 1.2 million members), which on June 14 celebrated the opening of its new branch at 3195 Snake River Parkway, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
  3. Alltru Federal Credit Union of Wentzville, Mo. in the St. Louis area ($343.8 million in assets, 39,551 members), which announced June 10 it has begun building a branch in Florissant, Mo., 35 miles east of Wentzville, which will be the credit union’s fifth when it opens in early 2025.

Also, Harborstone Credit Union of Tacoma, Wash. ($1.9 billion in assets, 89,104 members) on June 13 opened a permanent branch in Federal Way, Wash., 11 miles northeast of Tacoma, replacing a temporary one opened in December 2022.

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