There has been a great deal of discussion lately on the struggles of smaller to medium-sized credit unions. They face many challenges to remain on par with their peers, while not breaking the bank. However, the other side of the coin is the strength of the industry as a whole. Though 70% of the credit union population is composed of smaller credit unions, here are some numbers that illustrate basic performance facts of today's credit union industry:

Many Small credit unions are fighting an uphill battle to compete in the financial marketplace and to gain a better foothold. With recent numbers illustrating their decline in membership, assets and loan growth, it seems small credit unions have a blurry future. However, with an estimated 70% (4000/5684) of total operational credit unions classified as small (having under $100M in assets,) they represent a huge portion of the industry, and their struggles shouldn’t be easily dismissed.

Small credit unions have held their own in the marketplace for years, struggling at times to compete, but with extraordinary resourcefulness, have stayed viable.The latest report from the NCUA, however, provides some alarming data: Large credit unions are getting larger while smaller credit unions are, in fact, getting smaller. It's worth noting that while this is actually a long time industry trend, the strengthening economy has brought with it mounting challenges for smaller credit unions to stay competitive in the upcoming year.