Credit Union Branch Closures Hit Highest Level Since 2021

Credit unions closed 32 locations during the first quarter, the largest drop since 2021.

As the publication Credit Union (CU) Times reported Tuesday (June 17), that brings the industry’s branch count to below pre-pandemic numbers.

The report, based on an analysis of NCUA data, said there were 21,984 branches, headquarters and other locations as of the end of March, marking a loss of 32 U.S. locations during the first quarter. It was the biggest three-month decline since the fourth quarter of 2021, when the count dropped by 38 branches.

This followed a gain of 55 locations during the fourth quarter, bringing the branch count to 22,016. That branch count had peaked at 22,015 just before COVID-19 led to a mass shutdown of CU locations, the report added.

Of the four major Census regions, only the west made any gains during the quarter, adding four new CU branches in the first three months of 2025, the report added.

The findings come at a time when CUs are facing “a critical juncture that threatens their long-term viability,” as PYMNTS wrote Wednesday (June 18).

As that report noted, baby boomers account for the majority of CU members at 39%, compared to 31% for millennial and Generation Z members combined. The average CU member age is 53 — older than the national average of 38.5 — placing CUs at risk of losing ground to other financial institutions, the report added.

To capture younger members, credit unions need to hone in on digital and mobile offerings, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence/Velera report “From Aging to Z: How CUs Can Capture Younger Generations.”

“Attracting younger members is not merely about growth; it is vital for survival and maintaining relevance in an evolving financial landscape,” PYMNTS wrote. “A primary reason for this generational gap is that many millennial and Gen Z consumers are gravitating toward digital-first banks. For credit unions to close this gap and secure their future, prioritizing sophisticated mobile and digital products and services is not just an option, but a fundamental necessity.”

Gen Z lags older generations in credit union engagement, in part due to a lack of familiarity with credit unions as a banking option. The report found that 30% of Gen Z consumers were unaware of CU membership as an option, while just 20% report said they’d had some contact with a CU, compared to 33% of baby boomers.

In addition, more than half of Gen Z and millennial consumers rank modern digital tools as their main requirement when picking a financial institution, while 80% say digital banking is key to their experience.