The funding picture
As of Q1 2026, the panel (our quarterly dataset of credit-union financials) holds 2,405 credit unions above $50.0M in assets. Of those, 397 (16.5%) carry a funding-need flag. The flag marks a credit union that is loaned up. Its loan-to-share ratio, the share of members' deposits already lent back out, is at or above 85%. It also has thin cash, or deposits that shrank over the past year. That combination turns a balance sheet from a lender into a borrower. A higher liquidity-stress score in the table below means a credit union is closer to needing outside funding.
| Measure | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan-to-share | 74.2% | 86.0% | 93.4% |
| Cash / assets | 9.6% | 13.5% | 18.3% |
| Borrowings / assets | 0.0% | 1.0% | 5.4% |
| Liquidity-stress score | 17 | 28 | 42 |
The two-sided market this creates
A loaned-up credit union and a cash-rich one are two halves of the same trade. The first can sell shares of its loans, called participations, to the second. The panel sizes both sides:
| Role | Institutions | Share | Estimated dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller — loans to place | 141 | 5.9% | $17.1B participation supply |
| Buyer — cash to deploy | 335 | 13.9% | $8.5B investable surplus |
| Balanced | 1,929 | 80.2% | — |
Participation supply is the loans a seller holds beyond what a 90% loan-to-share ratio allows. Investable surplus is the cash a buyer holds beyond a working buffer of 10% of assets. Both measure capacity, not intent. The buy side's $8.5B of headroom does not commit any credit union to spend any of it. The figures cap how big the conversation can get.
Stress by asset tier
- $50M-$100M5.9%
- $100M-$500M12.7%
- $500M-$1B25.4%
- $1B-$10B32.7%
- >$10B33.3%
| Asset tier | Institutions | Funding-need flagged | Share of tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50M-$100M | 577 | 34 | 5.9% |
| $100M-$500M | 1,070 | 136 | 12.7% |
| $500M-$1B | 284 | 72 | 25.4% |
| $1B-$10B | 450 | 147 | 32.7% |
| >$10B | 24 | 8 | 33.3% |
Where funding pressure is concentrated
- MA33.3%
- ID33.3%
- AR31.2%
- WI29.2%
- UT28.6%
- WA26.2%
- FL23.8%
- IA21.1%
- LA20.8%
- VA20.3%
- SD20.0%
- ND20.0%
| State | Institutions | Funding-need flagged | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA | 69 | 23 | 33.3% |
| ID | 21 | 7 | 33.3% |
| AR | 16 | 5 | 31.2% |
| WI | 65 | 19 | 29.2% |
| UT | 28 | 8 | 28.6% |
| WA | 61 | 16 | 26.2% |
| FL | 80 | 19 | 23.8% |
| IA | 38 | 8 | 21.1% |
| LA | 48 | 10 | 20.8% |
| VA | 59 | 12 | 20.3% |
| SD | 15 | 3 | 20.0% |
| ND | 15 | 3 | 20.0% |
What changed this quarter
The number of flagged credit unions moved from 510 to 397 (-113 institutions). Participation supply on the sell side moved from $20.9B to $17.1B. Investable surplus on the buy side moved from $6.6B to $8.5B.
A role flip is when a credit union crosses from buyer to seller, or back. It is the most actionable event here. It means a trading partner that was not in the market last quarter is in it now.
How the score is built
The liquidity-stress score blends five parts at published weights. Three are loan-to-share, cash as a share of assets, and reliance on borrowing. The other two are deposits lost over the past year, and whether cash rose or fell since last quarter. The funding-need flag is a separate rule, not a cutoff on the score. So a credit union can score in the middle and still be flagged.
This post reports on the system as a whole. By design, it names no credit union. The counts and distributions here are the free half. The ranked list of named credit unions behind them, ready to export, is what a subscription opens.
Caveats
Every figure above is a model estimate computed from the quarterly panel as of the quarter named at the top of this post. Scores are not investment, credit or merger advice, and nothing here is a recommendation about any institution. The scorecards, their published weights and their known limitations are set out in the disclosures.