Leaders In 12-Month Member Growth

Today’s members understand outstanding financial service is merely the beginning of cooperative benefits, and at these credit unions, their ranks are growing.

By Callahan & Associates

In the first half of 2011, credit unions welcomed 510,217 new members into the cooperative community. Annually, credit unions grew membership rosters by 0.59% as of June 2011, bringing the total credit union membership base to 92.3 million. Industry observers expect those numbers to increase as Bank Transfer Day activities drive new members into the credit union market.

In addition to adding new members, credit unions were also successful at furthering relationships with existing members. The average member relationship (excluding business loans) grew 1.8% year-over-year to $14,774. On average, members now have 2.35 products with their credit union.

Realtors FCU Ranks No. 1 in Organic Membership Growth

There are currently more than 1,400 state and local real estate associations linked to the National Association of Realtors, which is the core of Realtors Federal Credit Union ($85.4M, Rockville, MD).

“These are the grassroots of the realty community,” says Jane Pannier, CEO. “It can be very advantageous to work with these associations."

“NAR sends of all of its members emails touting the benefits of credit union membership,” says Jesse Boyer, Realtor’s COO.

The credit union is capitalizing on this loyalty and turning those new membership into loans as well. Realtors grew its loan portfolio by 10.66% in the year ending June 2011 bucking its peer group (credit unions $50-100M in assets) decline of -0.57%, according to Callahan & Associates' 2012 Credit Union Directory. Its average member relationship of $17,409 is nearly 18% above the industry average of $14,774.

Below are the Top 20 credit unions with the fastest growing memberships from June 2010-June 2011 according to Callahan & Associates' 2012 Credit Union Directory. Credit unions that grew as a result of a merger or purchase and acquisition have been excluded from the results to highlight those credit unions that grew their membership organically.

Top 20 Credit Unions in 12-Mo. Member Growth
Data as of June 30, 2011 \| Credit Unions over $20M in Assets \| Excluding Significant Mergers
Rk	Credit Union	St	12-Month Growth	# of Members	Total Assets
1	REALTORS	MD	24.57%	6,916	$85,432,684
2	MERIDIAN	IA	20.67%	2,674	$32,141,190
3	CENTRAL FLORIDA POSTAL	FL	16.06%	7,991	$49,233,910
4	NORTHEAST ARKANSAS	AR	15.99%	19,581	$96,915,257
5	LUFTHANSA EMPLOYEES	NY	15.94%	1,200	$97,660,159
6	CORAL COMMUNITY	FL	15.81%	5,223	$23,548,393
7	MARIN COUNTY	CA	15.63%	4,837	$53,017,350
8	ALLIANCE BLACKSTONE VALLEY	RI	14.82%	3,959	$43,690,674
9	RIVER CITY	TX	14.73%	14,188	$154,383,660
10	BANK-FUND STAFF	DC	14.62%	73,397	$3,140,255,473
11	SCOTT	IL	14.43%	88,160	$754,590,423
12	ELI LILLY	IN	14.42%	55,739	$987,544,054
13	MERCER COUNTY COMMUNITY	PA	14.39%	9,101	$58,936,110
14	DOMINO	TX	14.32%	5,228	$54,087,291
15	FIRST LEGACY COMMUNITY	NC	14.20%	9,971	$46,076,522
16	FIRST GENERAL	MI	14.12%	7,629	$65,067,512
17	GENERAL ELECTRIC	OH	14.11%	90,136	$1,259,875,470
18	PARKS HERITAGE	NY	14.09%	3,773	$20,826,110
19	CONSUMERS	MI	14.00%	43,142	$357,634,486
20	IDAHO CENTRAL	ID	13.70%	98,468	$930,859,219
AVERAGE FOR CREDIT UNION INDUSTRY			0.59%	12,485	$129,265,879