Oregon Community Credit Union leans back into auto as credit unions gain market share

Oregon Community Credit Union is leaning back into growth in auto after slowing originations and has issued an auto asset-backed securitization deal as it looks to shore up funding. OCCU aims to tally more than $1.6 billion in annual auto originations by yearend 2025, Chris Whittaker , senior vice president of lending, told Auto Finance News . “We're currently pacing [at] about $150 million a month for auto. We expect that trend to continue or slightly increase.” Oregon Community Credit Union (OCCU) issued its third auto ABS deal on July 31, a $350 million prime transaction, according to CreditFlow , formerly Finsight , which monitors securities. OCCU is the second credit union to issue three ABS deals since the National Credit Union Administration granted approval for credit unions to securitize in 2017. Valley Strong Credit Union issued its third in 2024. The credit union’s auto originations soared 101.5% year over year to $858.7 million year to date through July, and were up 118.7% YoY in Q2 to $371.6 million. In Q1, originations jumped 91.6% YoY to $246.5 million, according to data provided to AFN . It has more than $3.5 billion in assets. Eugene, Oreg.-based OCCU was ranked 113th among all lenders for outstandings with $1.4 billion in volume at yearend 2024, according to the latest Big Wheels rankings data . More than 90% of OCCU’s originations volume is indirect through partnerships with its network of more than 1,000 dealerships across Oregon, Washington and Idaho, Whittaker said. $350M ABS deal OCCU has been “methodically increasing originations” after a strategic slowdown in recent years, Whittaker said, noting that auto originations volume peaked at about $2 billion over company history. “We were prepared with the infrastructure and consistent underwriting to expand when the timing was right.” “Given what we were seeing and given the demand for bonds right now, we determined that this was a great time to do our third securitization,” OCCU Senior Vice President Jeff Mullins told AFN . OCCU also issued auto ABS transactions in 2022 and 2023, according to CreditFlow. Credit union ABS Four other credit unions that have issued auto ABS transactions in the past three months, according to CreditFlow, include: First Community Credit Union’ s $252.3 million prime transaction on May 20; Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union ’ s $150 million prime transaction on July 1; Space Coast Credit Union ’s $687.6 million prime transaction on July 29; and American Heritage Federal Credit Union ’s $250 million prime transaction on Aug. 20. Total auto ABS issuance volume year to date was $116.7 billion through today, down 2.6% YoY, according to data from JPMorgan Securities . Prime issuance declined 4.5% YoY to $52.8 billion. [caption id="attachment_58354320" align="alignnone" width="968"] (Courtesy/Big Wheels)[/caption] “Auto ABS is generally very attractive to investors,” Mullins said. "Investors seem to appreciate the collateral, borrower quality and credit enhancement of the transactions.” CU market share mixed As more credit unions are coming to market, they are showing signs of growth in the auto lending sphere. Credit unions had the second-largest market share growth, behind banks, for new-vehicle loans in the second quarter at 18%, a 2 percentage-point YoY increase, according to TransUnion ’s Q2 2025 Auto Industry Insight Report published Aug. 14. Meanwhile, credit unions saw a 1-percentage point drop YoY in used-auto loan market share to 33% For the rest of 2025 and going into 2026, “I am not concerned about growth,” OCCU SVP of Lending Whittaker said. “We have the ability and the opportunity, regardless of [market] conditions, unless they become severe.” Join the “Capital Markets in Flux” conversation at Auto Finance Summit on Oct. 17, where industry leaders Elen Callahan , head of research at Structured Finance Association , and Xiaowei Luan , managing partner and co-founder of AX Partners , will discuss strategies for navigating the shifting credit market. Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event for auto lending and leasing, returns Oct. 15-17 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Learn more about the 2025 event and take advantage of the Aug. 29 early-bird registration here .

Oregon Community Credit Union leans back into auto as credit unions gain market share

OCCU issued $350M prime ABS

Ford Credit surpasses 60% of funding plan in 1H

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services CRO Carpenter joins Auto Finance Summit 2025

Related Posts

S&P lowers Tricolor auto ABS ratings

Porsche ABS deal reveals changes in luxury market (Under the Hood)

Pagaya auto run rate rises 10% to $2.2B

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services CRO Carpenter joins Auto Finance Summit 2025

Stay Informed with Our Newsletters

The Roadmap Podcast

SPONSORED

Driving Innovation in Automotive Refunds: How Onbe and Allied Solutions Are Modernizing the Payment Experience

Navigating the Margin Squeeze: EVs, Tariffs & Pricing — A Q&A with Earnix

Enhancing credit approaches to boost conversion and dealer loyalty

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password