Mark's Thoughts on the Credit Union Universe

In 2025, credit union business lending quietly staged one of its strongest comebacks in years, and Mark Ritter has the numbers to prove it. From a 25% surge in business loan volumes to a 43% jump in participation loans, the recovery exceeded nearly every expectation. But Mark does not stop at the good news. He tackles the slow erosion of community lending, the growing threat of credit union mergers, rising delinquency rates, and an NCUA board in limbo that could create regulatory turbulence for years to come. This is the episode you forward to everyone in your network.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

✅ How credit union business lending rebounded in 2025, with industry-wide business loan volumes climbing over 25% and participation loans rising 43% after years of tightening liquidity.

✅ Why credit union consolidation and ongoing credit union mergers are quietly weakening community lending and reducing the cooperative presence in local markets across the country.

✅ How rising delinquency rates and increased charge-offs are signaling early stress in portfolios, particularly among larger institutions that leaned into big real estate loans without personal guarantees.

✅ Why the NCUA board leadership gap is creating real strain on credit union examiners and slowing down the regulatory clarity that smaller credit unions desperately need.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Credit union business lending volumes for 2025 are revealed, including a 25% industry-wide surge

04:05 Participation loans jumped 43%, and MBFS crossed 1,000 loan underwriting milestones in a single year

06:14 Mark has some random thoughts about the industry

09:54 New people in the industry, credit union mergers, and consolidation are shrinking community lending and weakening local cooperative roots

13:48 Rising delinquency rates and charge-offs signal growing portfolio stress tied to loosened business lending standards

15:19 The NCUA board leadership vacuum is straining credit union examiners and stalling critical regulatory relief

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Credit union business lending surged over 25% in 2025, with participation loans up 43%, proving the industry can recover strongly after a prolonged liquidity crunch when conditions align.

💎 Credit union mergers continue to erode community lending at a local level, with member engagement in cooperative principles so low that consolidation often passes with only a fraction of members voting.

💎 The current NCUA board vacancy is not a bureaucratic footnote. It is creating mounting pressure on credit union examiners and delaying the regulatory relief smaller institutions need to operate effectively.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Mark Ritter - Website

Mark Ritter - LinkedIn

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