Credit Unions, Liquidity, and Participation Loans
By Will Sneed, SVP of Lender Partnerships at LendKey
Credit unions play an important role in the financial sector, providing access to credit and financial services to millions of people across the country. However, credit unions themselves face unique challenges when it comes to managing liquidity and providing loans to their members. This is where participation loans can come into play, providing a solution to liquidity constraints in the credit union market.
Liquidity constraints occur when a credit union has scarce funds to meet their members’ demand for loans. and can happen for a variety of reasons, such as an unexpected surge in loan requests or a decrease in deposit inflows. When this happens, credit unions may be forced to either deny loan applications or seek funding from external sources, both of which can be detrimental to their financial health and reputation.
Participation loans are a type of loan in which multiple lenders, including credit unions, come together to fund a single loan. This allows credit unions to pool their resources and share the lending risk, while also providing access to larger loan amounts than they would be able to offer on their own. In addition, participation loans allow credit unions to diversify their loan portfolios and increase their returns, making them a valuable tool for managing liquidity constraints.
For a deep dive into participation loans and how they can be an invaluable tool for your credit union, watch our recent webinar with Amy Henderson from GreenState CU, Devin Hughes from LendKey, and Michael Adams from Open Lending. Along with Moderator, Will Sneed, this panel does an in-depth analysis of everything from starting the process to detailed pricing and participation strategies.