SEATTLE—The number of people using a credit union rather than a bank as their primary financial institution has grown more in this market than any other market in the U.S. over the last seven years, according to research conducted by Nielsen Scarborough.
Nashville, meanwhile, has seen the biggest decrease in consumers listing credit unions as their PFI.
The company’s analysis shows 31.5% of people in the Seattle metropolitan market now use a credit union as their PFI, up from 23.2% in 2008. The Seattle Times reported that growth has come at the expense of banks in the market, particularly Bank of America. In 2008 BofA and credit unions (as a whole) had nearly equal PFI membership. But now, seven years later here, credit unions have nearly twice the marketshare as the country’s largest bank.
“The culture and attitude of consumers here is unique. They want to know who they’re doing business with,” Troy Stang, president and CEO of the Northwest Credit Union Association, told the Seattle Times.
According to Nielsen Scarborough’s research, the other four markets seeing the biggest gains in consumers identifying credit unions as their PFI were Oklahoma City (now 22.1% from 14.1%), Portland, Ore. (30% from 23%), Austin, Texas (27% from 20.9%), and Jacksonville, Fla. (41% from 35.6%).
Besides Nashville, markets seeing a decline in consumers calling CUs their PFI were Pittsburg (to 7% from 10.4%), San Diego (to 24% from 27.6%), Cleveland/Akron (to 6.8% from 10.7%), and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (to 8.6% from 12.5%).