Second de novo credit union of 2025 to be formed in St. Louis
After chartering four new credit unions in 2024, the NCUA awarded its second charter of the year to African Diaspora Federal Credit Union in Missouri.
The National Credit Union Administration has handed out the second new federal charter of 2025 to African Diaspora Federal Credit Union in St. Louis, Missouri.
The start-up will primarily serve members of the African Diaspora Council, Inc,, the regulator announced in a press release Monday.
The group’s mission includes promoting community self-help and financial and wealth-management education. The credit union plans to open its doors later in 2025 and begin by offering members basic savings and lending services, including share accounts, auto loans and personal loans.
NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman has made chartering more de novos a priority since he joined the board late in 2020.
“Credit unions have been the answer to financial inclusion for more than 90 years. It’s appropriate that a community organization dedicated to self-help, self-determination, and promoting financial security would establish a new federal credit union,” Hauptman said in the press release.
The NCUA chartered only four credit unions last year after three were awarded in 2023, and since 2014 the regulator has only chartered 32 new credit unions.
Most recently, the agency chartered Heritage Hub Federal Credit Union in Houston.
The agency last year said it is making strides in chartering more de novos.
“Three or four new charters per year might not sound like a lot, but it represents positive momentum and aligns with historic trends,” former NCUA board member Todd Harper said at one of the agency’s monthly board meetings.
At the same time, the number of credit unions in the U.S. continues to shrink, and few new organizations are entering the landscape to replace those that merged or closed.
Case in point: As of Dec. 31, 2024, there were 4,455 federally insured credit unions compared with 4,604 just a year earlier.
The NCUA is scheduled to hold its first open board meeting since February on May 22. The past two monthly meetings have been cancelled, including April’s after President Donald Trump fired board members Harper and Tonya Otsuka.
