Why More Credit Union and Bank Mergers Are on the Horizon

After a record year of credit union purchases in 2024, the number of deals fell from 20 to 15 in 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. While 15 is still a significant increase compared to historic norms, the first half of 2026 saw just four announced deals.

At first glance, this slowdown looks like a break in the trend, especially when consolidation was expected to rise. When studied closely, experts read it as more of a pause.

With that shift in mind, boards on both sides of these deals — community banks weighing a sale and credit unions weighing a purchase — should treat 2026 as a planning window rather than shelving the strategic question each board faces: whether to sell or pursue an acquisition.

Deals in the Pipeline
While the deal count tells one story, the deal pipeline tells another.

Many believe the decrease in deals — from 20 in 2024 to just four through June 2026 — is the result of a trend coming to an end. However, advisers who broker these transactions note there are still a healthy number of small bank sellers, specifically among the community banks feeling pressure to invest and grow.

Jeff Cardone, a partner at the law firm Luse Gorman, told Tyfone he expects to see roughly 10 credit union-bank deals by the end of 2026, pointing to transactions already under letters of intent. Glenn Christensen, president and chief executive of CEO Advisory Group also anticipates an increase in deals in the second half of the year, noting there are “numerous opportunities for credit unions to acquire banks.”

If the advisers are right, the slowdown in the first half of the year reflects the timing of when deals close, rather than a step back from the strategy behind them.

Drivers of Consolidation
Three durable reasons give the trend staying power:

1. Scale and technology costs: As depositors increasingly expect more from their banks in the age of artificial intelligence, credit union and community bank boards must now weigh whether they can fund the investments needed to stay competitive independently.
2. Credit unions have clear reasons to buy: Bank acquisitions give credit unions geographic expansion, additional deposits and commercial lending expertise. With the uptick in acquisitions, advisers describe credit unions as disciplined and strategic, despite the increase in opportunities.
3. A deep bench of potential sellers: A steady supply of smaller community banks feeling margin and succession pressure keeps the pipeline full, and credit unions remain a strong competitor for those banks.

Together, these three forces set the baseline. The pressure on sellers, the appeal for buyers and the depth of the pipeline hold, regardless of the number of deals announced in a given quarter.

As credit unions take on more acquisitions, the banking industry has renewed its argument that credit unions buying banks should forfeit their federal tax exemption. However, credit union advocates like Michael Bell, a partner and chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group at Honigman, note that growth doesn’t change a credit union’s mission.

That debate isn’t likely to be settled soon. For boards, it doesn’t matter who’s right, but the tension does add uncertainty to the approval timeline that both buyers and sellers should take into account.

What Boards Should Know
While the deal count changes quarter to quarter, the strategy behind those deals will not.

Community bank boards should understand whether their organization will want to stay independent or prepare for a potential offer from a credit union buyer. Readiness means having a current view of valuation and well-documented operations that hold up under scrutiny.

Credit union boards that want to acquire should target with intention while the seller pipeline is full and build on the discipline that separates a sound acquisition from an expensive one.

A quiet six months isn’t an end to the trend, but an opportunity to plan for the rest of the year.