After rising for more than a decade, the number of community development financial institutions and their total assets experienced a modest decline starting in 2023, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
As of the second quarter of 2025, the CDFI industry consisted of 1,378 certified institutions holding $446 billion in assets, the New York Fed reported. The total number of CDFIs had mostly climbed since 2011 to hit a high of 1,471 institutions in 2023, but that total has since slid by roughly 6%. Total assets also dropped by about 3%.
The New York Fed noted that CDFI-certified credit unions were responsible for much of the growth and also accounted for most of the recent decline, dropping in number from 519 to 445 between 2023 and 2025.
CDFI-certified credit unions currently hold roughly 62% of total industry assets, at $277 billion. CDFI-certified banks hold $125 billion, or about 28% of total industry assets. Certified loan funds hold around $32 billion, or 7% of total industry assets.
