# Are US credit unions in financial trouble?

The consumer side is under real stress; the system overall is not failing yet. US credit unions are a **$1.73 trillion** lending system now running **GFC-era loss rates in consumer lending, without a recession**. Card charge-offs hit **5.30% in Q1 2026**, above the 2008-09 crisis peak of 4.68% for **10 consecutive quarters** - a plateau, not a spike. Real estate and commercial are calm (59% of loans, 4% of losses); the strain is concentrated in consumer, which is 41% of loans but 95% of the losses, with auto net charge-offs at a fresh series record. Measured against each sector's own GFC peak, credit-union cards are at **113%** (past it) versus banks at just 38%.

The system-level flags: the Share Insurance Fund equity ratio has slipped to **1.30%**, below the 1.33% normal operating level, so a loss wave could force a premium assessment on every surviving credit union (precedent: the 2009-10 corporate credit-union crisis). The NCUA is currently run by a single board member. Some relief: consumer balances are about $19B below their end-2023 peak and falling, the shape of deliberate tightening, though vintages already booked will run their loss curves.

Explore the NCUA data live: [https://www.tigzig.com/tremor](https://www.tigzig.com/tremor). Full analysis (13-slide deck): [https://www.tigzig.com/post/credit-union-red-flag-jun2026](https://www.tigzig.com/post/credit-union-red-flag-jun2026). Related: the broader US consumer credit picture [https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/are-us-consumer-credit-delinquencies-at-crisis-levels](https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/are-us-consumer-credit-delinquencies-at-crisis-levels).

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Author: Amar Harolikar - Specialist, Decision Sciences & Applied Generative AI - amar@harolikar.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarharolikar
Source: https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/are-us-credit-unions-in-trouble
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