A new study finds credit union membership keeps growing even as the number of institutions shrinks, maps where that growth could accelerate next
Eighty-seven percent of Puerto Ricans now have a savings or checking account, up sharply from as recently as 2019, when industry estimates put the island’s unbanked population as high as a third of all households.
Puerto Rico’s credit unions want a bigger share of that now-largely-banked population, according to a new consumer study submitted to Caribbean Business by Blue Morpho Firm, the San Juan strategic communications and research firm that developed it.
The study, called Pulso Financiero y Cooperativo de Puerto Rico, found that despite the improvement in overall banking access, commercial banks still dominate: 74% of respondents said they hold accounts with a commercial bank, compared with just 21% at a credit union. Results were presented at Circuito Cooperativo’s annual assembly in Rincón, before credit union presidents and other sector leaders.
The two sectors combined represent roughly $96.4 billion in assets, according to data cited in the study. Credit unions ended 2025 with about $12.48 billion in assets, their highest level in at least five years, according to the Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives (COSSEC). Puerto Rico’s commercial banks held about $83.9 billion, per the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF).
Fewer institutions, more members
The credit union sector has consolidated sharply even as it has grown. Puerto Rico had 91 COSSEC-insured credit unions as of March 2026, down from 108 in 2022, a net loss of 17 institutions. Yet membership rose by 54,606 people over the same period, a 4.92% increase, and the sector also grew in assets, loans and capital. Fewer institutions, in other words, are serving more members and managing more money, not less.
The pattern echoes, in miniature, what has already happened in commercial banking. Puerto Rico had between 13 and 14 private banks roughly two decades ago; today, three institutions hold a substantial share of the commercial banking market. That earlier wave of bank consolidation is part of what the study’s authors say creates room for credit unions to compete for consumers who feel underserved by a shrinking pool of large banks.
Where credit unions are already winning
Credit unions show particular strength outside the metro area. In municipalities in the south, west and mountainous interior, credit union penetration approaches, and in some markets exceeds, that of commercial banks, the study found, underscoring that Puerto Rico’s financial market behaves differently by region rather than as a single homogeneous market.
The study also measured perception. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they consider credit unions better than commercial banks, but roughly one in four said they don’t know enough about credit unions to compare them with banks at all, a knowledge gap most pronounced among younger consumers, older consumers, and residents of dense urban areas including San Juan.
Trust, service, accessibility and rates ranked among the top factors consumers weigh when choosing a financial institution overall, but priorities shift by age: younger consumers value technology and speed, while older consumers prioritize proximity and trust. The study identified consumers ages 35 to 44 and 65 and older as showing the greatest willingness to expand their use of financial products, marking them as target segments for credit union growth.
About the study
The study was based on 253 interviews across seven regions, reaching residents of 55 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus 6.2%. It was developed by Blue Morpho Firm in collaboration with Andrés Claudio, a market researcher who has worked with Mastercard and Citibank and previously led Nielsen Watch Puerto Rico.
Manuel A. Romero Belgodere, president of Blue Morpho Firm, said the goal is to turn consumer research into a recurring tool for the sector. “It’s not enough to know the industry’s numbers,” he said. “We need to understand the person behind those numbers, what they think, what they need, and why they choose one institution over another.” The firm said it intends to repeat the study annually to track how Puerto Rico’s financial consumer evolves.
