Credit unions by the numbers
Although credit unions pale in size to some of the behemoth commercial banks, such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM -1.90%) and its $4.36 trillion in assets, there are a number with assets well into the billions. Navy Federal Credit Union is the nation’s largest, with $190 billion in total assets. It’s followed by State Employees’ ($55.3 billion), SchoolsFirst ($33.4 billion), Pentagon Federal ($30.5 billion), and Boeing Employees ($29.4 billion).
Like banks, credit unions are subject to larger macroeconomic forces. There were 161 fewer credit unions in the first quarter of 2025 on a year-over-year basis, largely the result of consolidations; the number of credit unions with more than $500 million in assets climbed from 717 to 740 during the same period. Meanwhile, membership rose by 2.9 million people to reach a total of 143.2 million customers during the same period.
Total assets in credit unions rose by $60 billion during Q1 2025 to $2.37 trillion, including an additional $52.8 billion that brought the total outstanding loans to $1.65 trillion. Family residential property loans made up $756.8 billion (+$44 billion year over year), and auto loans accounted for another $481.4 billion (-$10.4 billion). Credit card balances totaled $83.8 billion (+$3 billion), and student loans made up $6.9 billion (-$0.4 billion).