It’s no surprise that credit union consolidation continues; it is estimated that there were 65% more mergers in 2015 than in 2000. Overall, there were about 15% fewer credit unions in 2015 than in 2011. While there are fewer players today than in previous years, the credit union market is not shrinking or in decline. The number of credit unions with over $500 million in assets grew by 21% from 2011 to 2015, which means there are fewer, larger players. Consolidation is not limited to credit unions alone. We are also seeing consolidation of service organizations that provider products, services and technology to the credit union space as well.
Given the current environment, what’s the best course of action for CUSOs? One the one hand, for credit union service organizations (CUSOs) serving credit unions exclusively it means there are fewer credit unions to sell to, but on the other hand, since each player is bigger there are potentially more opportunities for CUSOs.
There are CUSOs right now proactively trying to find value and expand in today’s market. For example, CUSO currently only servicing the east coast may use strategic M&A to quickly gain a footprint in a new geographic market in order to service the growing member base of the credit unions they service.
External factors are also affecting the credit union and CUSO industry. When we look at U.S. M&A activity as a whole, 2015 was a massive year. We are in an environment where deal flow, the number of transactions, size of transactions and valuation multiples are at a peak. And peaks are followed by troughs so 2016 could be an interesting year.
There are a ton of deals going on and a lot of money chasing those deals. This means there are new competitors that CUSOs need to consider when investing in organizations. More and more people from outside the credit union space see the opportunity and are trying to figure out how to enter the industry. For example, private equity are doubling down and looking to expand in technology and financial services especially. While there is more competition from outsiders looking to invest in the same opportunities, CUSOs also provide unique access and benefits to non-exclusive credit union organizations looking to enter into the credit union world.
* This post was contributed by John Dearing, Managing Director at Capstone
