New Report Finds Half of All Credit Union Industry Assets at Risk from Climate Change

Ceres and the Filene Research Institute have released a new report that finds thousands of U.S credit unions have significant unaddressed risk arising from the climate crisis. This first-of-its-kind analysis provides insights on how credit unions can respond to the climate crisis, mitigate their risks, and become part of a system-wide solution.

The report, The Changing Climate for Credit Unions, finds that more than 60% of all credit unions—and at least $1.2 trillion in credit union assets—are at physical risk from climate change. They face growing risks from extreme weather events including fires, floods, hurricanes, and increased transition risk, such as changes in regulation, technology, as well as legal and reputational risks. The report argues that it is incredibly risky for credit unions to ignore the climate threats with 60% of U.S. credit unions physically located in vulnerable locations and with credit unions having $141 billion in assets from high-risk industries that are evolving due to climate change.

“Our report makes clear that thousands of credit unions, and the many underserved communities they serve, have significant and unaddressed risk arising from our rapidly changing climate,” said Steven M. Rothstein, Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets at Ceres. “There are challenges and opportunities facing the credit union industry, both now and in the future. We hope that every credit union staff member, manager, director, and regulator will use this report and the recommendations we have outlined as a guide to inform their approach to addressing climate risk and protecting the financial savings of their members.”