From Insight to Strategy: A Lending Modernization Perspective
Modernization Minute | Quash
The Lending Numbers Are Sending Mixed Signals
The latest NCUA data gave me two numbers that are interesting when you put them side by side.
Across federally insured credit unions, total loans outstanding increased 4.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
But at the median credit union, loan growth was 0.6%.
Both numbers are accurate.
They’re simply measuring the industry from different perspectives.
And I think that’s a useful reminder anytime we’re looking at lending performance.
A single metric, even an accurate one, rarely tells the entire story.
Approval rates are a good example.
An approval rate tells you how many applications were approved. By itself, it doesn't tell you why the remaining applications weren't approved.
The same is true of declines, manual reviews, application volume and portfolio performance.
They tell us what happened.
Understanding what contributed to those outcomes requires another layer of analysis.
That might mean looking at differences by product, borrower segment, loan amount, credit profile or another factor relevant to the institution.
It might mean looking at what information was available when a decision was made.
And it might mean comparing historical decisions with subsequent performance.
None of that assumes there's a problem to fix.
The analysis may reinforce exactly what you're doing today.
Or it may give you a question worth investigating further.
Either way, I think that's an important distinction when lending teams evaluate performance or set future priorities.
The metric gives you the outcome. The analysis helps you understand the context around it.
That’s your Modernization Minute.
Ruthie Dell is Chief Lending Modernization Officer at Quash. Having worked across financial technology, market research, public relations, and operations, she brings a practical perspective to lending modernization—one that emphasizes human judgment, explainable intelligence, and technology that helps lenders make better-informed decisions rather than simply faster ones.
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