In 2010, the credit union where I worked found itself facing the same challenges many credit unions were experiencing across the country. The housing market had collapsed, the economy was struggling, charge-offs were rising, and loan growth had slowed dramatically.
Like most credit unions, we needed quality loans—not just more loans but performing loans that could help offset losses and generate revenue during a difficult time.
The question was simple:
“Where do you find reliable loan growth in a market like that?”
We found it in the loans our members already had somewhere else.
Our members were making payments every month on auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages held by other financial institutions. Many of those loans had been performing for years. They represented proven borrowers, established payment histories, and opportunities to improve members’ financial situations through lower rates, lower payments, or both.
Reports from benchmarking companies and our partner, Experian, showed that the opportunity was enormous. Early reports in 2010 showed credit union members carried as much as $1 billion in loans with other institutions. The challenge was that most employees weren’t looking for it.
At the time, our outbound call center had been conducting loan recapture campaigns for several years, but loan recapture had not yet become a focus in our branches, lending teams, or contact center. If we wanted meaningful results, we needed the entire organization engaged in identifying and capturing these opportunities.
So, we built a sales training program focused specifically on loan recapture. Employees learned how to identify opportunities, ask better questions, uncover loans held elsewhere, and connect members with solutions that could improve their financial lives.
The first year was humbling.
In 2010, the credit union recaptured approximately $25 million in loans. While that may sound impressive, for a $2 billion institution it represented only a fraction of the opportunity we knew existed within our membership.
In 2011, recaptured loan volume increased to approximately $35 million. Progress was being made, but the results still weren’t where they needed to be.
The opportunity was there; what was missing was consistency.
Over the next several years, leadership doubled down. Managers coached loan recapture conversations. Goals and expectations became more defined. Hiring practices evolved. Instead of simply hiring processors, we focused on bringing in employees and leaders who could identify opportunities, build relationships, and influence member decisions. We looked for people who wanted to sell and had the ability to do it effectively—and the results followed.
By 2014, annual loan recapture volume exceeded $121 million. By 2015, it had surpassed $300 million.
The most important lesson wasn’t that we discovered a new source of loan growth—the opportunity had always been there. Our members had always carried loans with other financial institutions. What changed was our ability to consistently identify those opportunities, engage in meaningful conversations, and help members bring those relationships back to the credit union.
Today, many credit unions face a similar challenge. The opportunity is sitting inside their membership. The question is whether their teams have the skills, coaching, and focus required to capture it.
The Opportunity Is Already There
As of the end of 2025, the average credit union member carried approximately $11,500 in loan balances with their credit union. This includes all lending categories, including auto loans, RV loans, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, student loans, and business loans, etcetera. Among larger credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets, that figure is closer to $14,000 per member.
Now consider this.
According to NerdWallet, the average American household carried approximately $165,000 in debt at the end of 2025. With an average household size of roughly 2.5 people, that equates to approximately $65,000 in debt per American.
This suggests the average credit union member may be financing only 18% to 22% of their total debt with their credit union. Their remaining debt is being held somewhere else.
But Why???
Of course, not all of that debt can realistically be brought into the credit union. Many credit unions do not participate in student lending, and a significant percentage of mortgage balances are sold into the secondary market. Even after accounting for those factors, however, the opportunity remains enormous.
Your members already have the loans. The vehicles have already been purchased. The credit cards have already been opened and charged up. The personal loans have already been funded. The RVs, boats, and motorcycles are already sitting in driveways, garages, and lakes across your field of membership.
The challenge is not creating demand. The challenge is identifying opportunities and helping members move those relationships to the credit union.
I currently work with a large credit union serving nearly 400,000 members. Their loan-to-member ratio is approximately $5,500 per member, placing them among the lowest-performing large credit unions in the country on this metric.
If that credit union were able to move its loan-to-member ratio toward $14,000 per member, it would represent approximately $3.4 billion in additional loan balances.
Think about that for a moment. The credit union doesn’t need to identify the perfect time when the member is in the market to finance something. They don’t need to pick the right time to make a credit card offer. They don’t need to attract new members with loan needs. These loans already exist, and these are already your members.
We just need to help employees identify and capture the opportunities through effective training, coaching, and accountability.
What Creates a Successful Loan Recapture Program?
Many credit unions understand the concept of loan recapture. They know members have loans financed elsewhere, and they know there is opportunity sitting within their membership. The challenge is turning that opportunity into consistent loan growth.
Over the years, I have worked with credit unions that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in recaptured loan volume. The most successful organizations all have one thing in common: they do not leave loan recapture to chance. Their sales team is focused on identifying opportunities because they have clear goals and expectations and are held accountable for them. They have a genuine concern for their members and are motivated to help them save money and secure better loan terms. They also know how to clearly demonstrate value and get the member excited with the right sales approach.
Let’s look at this step by step.
First, Employees Must Know Where to Find Opportunities
In an order-taker sales environment, employees often wait for members to ask about refinancing. That rarely happens for a several reasons.
- The member doesn’t think to ask
- The member believes they already have the best loan
- The member doesn’t think they can refinance
- The member’s payment is comfortable, and there is no motivation to take action
If the member isn’t asking, the team member needs to be proactive and make recommendations. They know that recapture opportunities are everywhere, and they are constantly on the lookout.
Second, Employees Must Know How to Start the Conversation
Identifying an opportunity is only the beginning. The next challenge is getting team members to engage with members over loan recapture opportunities.
Many opportunities are lost because team members see them but never mention them. Successful loan recapture programs teach team members how to naturally and professionally start conversations, as well as hiring team members who want to engage with members at this level or proactivity.
Third, Employees Must Know How to Discover the Need
The best loan recapture professionals do not immediately start selling—they ask questions first to learn more. They ask questions to gather important information that helps them understand what is happening and what the member is looking to accomplish.
Fourth, Employees Must Know How to Create Value
One of the biggest mistakes credit unions make is assuming loan recapture is only about showing a lower rate. Rate is a feature. Features only tell the member what the product can do, but they do not explain the ways the member will benefit and gain value.
Credit union’s need team members that are motivated to show members the advantages of doing business with the credit union, and hungry to deliver value.
Finally, Employees Must Know How to Secure the Next Step
Many opportunities are lost because conversations end without action. The goal when starting a loan recapture conversation is to gain a commitment from the member to move forward with an application. This is the next logical step, and team members need to know how to secure commitments that will move sales forward.
Training Creates Awareness—Coaching Creates Consistency
Training is essential if team members are going to consistently capture the loan opportunities that already exist within their membership. However, training alone is not enough. Managers must reinforce these skills through coaching.
Credit unions that generate significant recapture volume are not necessarily those with the lowest rates. They are the organizations whose leaders consistently coach employees to identify opportunities, ask great questions, create value, and secure commitments.
Conclusion
Your members are already borrowing money. The vehicles have already been purchased. The credit cards have already been opened. The mortgages have already been funded.
The question isn’t whether loan growth opportunities exist within your membership. The question is whether your organization has built the training, coaching, and accountability necessary to consistently identify and capture them.
Because the easiest loans to book are often the ones you’ve already lost.
