Field of membership expansion in 2020: Behind the numbers

by CUCollaborate

2020 is no doubt a year most would prefer to soon forget, yet amid so much darkness bright spots could be found within the credit union industry as many institutions found ways to strategically expand their fields of membership. In fact, the past year saw more conversions and expansions than 2019 in every category aside from Select Employee Groups (SEGs) additions. Given employment has had its ups and downs, that’s not terribly surprising.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the data provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA):

Fewer SEG Additions, More Potential Members

The adding of SEGs—groups that share any common bond of association or occupation—is a popular tool for credit unions looking to grow their Field of Membership (FOM), and this was once more the most used tactic in 2020, being put to use by 295 institutions. The number, however, comes in significantly lower than the previous year’s total of 379, not to mention the overall average from 2015–2019 of 418.

 

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