3.1.5.3Vertical

Federal Credit Unions

Federally chartered credit unions regulated by the NCUA.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Credit Unions (3.1.5), the segment that Federal Credit Unions sits within. They are not figures for Federal Credit Unions on its own.

Market size
~$96B
Growth
~8.0%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~4,561 firms
Firms by employee count

57.9% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 2,643 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe1,918 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
1,19462%
100–499
59931%
500+
1257%

The growth story in depository banking: member-owned, tax-exempt cooperatives that have taken steady share in consumer lending and deposits, and the larger ones increasingly acquire community banks, a notable and growing M&A trend. The ~4,600 figure counts institutions; revenue is interest and member fees, and the not-for-profit surplus model shapes both the economics and the acquisition behavior.

NAICS 522130. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Net interest spread plus member fees; not-for-profit surplus

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$20,929,087
Revenue per employee
$286,589
Employees per firm
72.0
Recurring revenue
High

sticky member relationships

EBITDA margin
Not-for-profit; measured by net worth and ROA
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 24% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 125 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Tax-exempt, member-owned structure supports growth.
  • Increasingly acquiring community banks.
  • Smaller cooperatives merging into larger institutions.

NAICS 522130. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontRhode IslandMaineWest VirginiaMississippiLouisiana

Credit-union institutions cluster per resident in lower-income and rural states (West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Maine), where dense networks of small community, employer, and regional cooperatives serve markets the large banks under-serve, rather than tracking population.

West VirginiaLouisianaMississippiMaine

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 522130. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Larger acquiring credit unions
  • Credit unions acquiring banks
  • Cooperative consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Credit-union acquisitions of community banks.
  • Merger of smaller cooperatives for scale.
  • Share gains in consumer lending and deposits.

Find Federal Credit Unions acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Federal Credit Unions (3.1.5.3) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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