Scale
At the end of December 2019, the British credit union sector had:
- Around 280 credit unions across England, Scotland and Wales employing more than 1,700 staff
- 1,434,492 people using credit unions, including 129,591 junior depositors
- Total assets of £1.78 billion
- Total loans of £1.1 billion
- Total deposits of £1.510 billion
- Annual turnover of £134 million (year to December 2019)
Sources: PRA unaudited quarterly figures for December 2019
Growth
In the year to December 2019, the sector grew:
- Membership by 2.8%
- Assets by 7%
- Loans by 9%
- Deposits by 8%
- Turnover by 11%
Source: Bank of England Quarterly Credit Union Statistics December 2019
In the decade from 2007 to 2017, the sector:
- Increased in membership and loans by 167% and 198% respectively
- Increased in deposits and assets by 232% and 237% respectively
Source: PRA audited, 2018 annual figures and ABCUL
Note: Annual figures are not available until July the year after.
International
While credit unions in Britain remain relatively small, internationally there are:
- Active credit union sectors in 118 countries with 85,400 credit unions
- More than 270 million credit union members
- Assets of over $2.1 trillion
- Loans of over $1.6 trillion
- Deposits of over $1.8 trillion
High penetration rates in many developed countries:
- 55% in USA
- 42% in Canada
- 26% in Australia
Source: WOCCU Statistical Report 2018
WOCCU’s full annual statistical report is available here.