Credit Union Topics
Explore credit unions by subject — safety, membership, rates, loans, and financial data.
Deposit Safety & NCUSIF Insurance
SafetyHow NCUA share insurance works, coverage limits ($250K per depositor per ownership category), and what happens if a credit union fails. Identical protection to FDIC at banks.
Joining a Credit Union
MembershipField of membership rules, eligibility pathways (employer, geography, association, family), and the step-by-step application process.
Credit Union vs Bank
ComparisonRate comparisons, fee structures, member-ownership vs shareholder-ownership, service availability, and when each institution type is the better fit.
Financial Health & Stability
AnalysisHow PlainCU calculates the 0–100 health score, what NCUA considers "well capitalized," and how to read Call Report financial ratios.
Auto Loans at Credit Unions
LoansWhy credit unions typically offer lower auto loan rates than banks, how to qualify, and how to compare offers across multiple institutions.
Mortgage Lending
LoansHow credit unions underwrite mortgages, member-preferred rates, and how to compare a CU first-mortgage offer to bank and broker options.
Reading NCUA Call Report Data
DataHow to interpret the 5300 Call Report fields — net worth ratio, delinquency, ROA, loan-to-share — and what each metric tells you about a credit union.
Rankings & Comparisons
ReferenceNational rankings by health score, asset size, and growth. Side-by-side comparisons of any two credit unions.
State-by-State Directory
DirectoryBrowse credit unions in every US state. Per-state counts, combined assets, average health, and the institutions that operate there.
Methodology
PlainCU organizes topics around the questions members and prospective members actually ask: is my money safe? can I join? how do the rates compare? how healthy is this institution? We map each topic to the underlying primary source — NCUA regulations for safety and eligibility, Call Report data for performance metrics, and CFPB or NCUA guidance documents for consumer-facing rules.
Topic pages link out to full guides (which are reviewed editorially) and to data pages (which refresh each quarter when NCUA publishes new Call Report data). We cite the specific source behind every claim so readers can independently verify.
- Source: NCUA 5300 Call Report, Q4 2025
- Source: NCUA Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) coverage rules
- Source: CFPB consumer financial protection guidance
Informational only. Not affiliated with NCUA or CFPB. Verify current rates, terms, and eligibility directly with each credit union.