KEY WEST, Fla. – Credit union executives may want to think twice about the 90 million number, that is, Americans who are credit unions members, according to one long-time industry consultant.
That’s because many of the so-called memberships that credit unions count represent duplicates, people who have memberships in two or three or more credit unions, according to Jerry Marsh, during a planning session for the Pennsylvania CU Association’s CEO Summit. Marsh, who has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, estimated the actual number of credit union members in the U.S. at 30 million.
But that’s good news, Marsh told the credit union executives, because that represents only a 10% penetration rate in the U.S. population. "That gives us plenty of room to grow," he said.
He lamented low membership growth in recent years, an average of just 1.9% a year since 2000. "If you’re not growing, you’re dying," he said.
