NAPERVILLE, Ill.— Credit unions gained a powerful new liquidity tool this summer when Alloya Corporate FCU completed what it says is the first-ever multi-issuer auto loan asset-backed securitization (ABS).
The $150-million transaction marks an unprecedented step for the industry—one that Alloya executives believe will open securitization markets to more credit unions and become a repeatable model in the years ahead.
“This is really unique because nearly all ABS deals are single-issuer transactions,” explained Andy Kohl, chief investment officer at Alloya. “To our knowledge, no bank or credit union has ever combined multiple issuers into one deal. Getting three credit unions to align, pool loans, and go to market together—that’s what makes this groundbreaking.”
Why Credit Unions Needed This
The effort, Kohl said, grew out of a stark lesson from recent years: liquidity can dry up quickly. Credit unions experienced massive swings during and after the pandemic, with deposits first pouring in and then flowing out just as rapidly.
“That left many credit unions looking for access to external liquidity, beyond our own system,” Kohl noted. “Through this deal, three credit unions were able to tap investors like insurance companies and pension funds—buyers who don’t normally interact with credit unions.”
Ryan McCarroll, Alloya’s vice president of capital markets, emphasized another benefit: inclusivity.
“Historically, only very large credit unions could consider a securitization because you’d need hundreds of millions in loans to make a single-issuer deal viable,” he said. “By pooling issuers, you don’t have to wait until you’ve built up a massive portfolio. Mid-size and even smaller credit unions can participate, which broadens access to the market.”
How The Deal Came Together
The idea began in summer 2024 when Alloya gathered prospective participants in Naperville to walk through the concept. Weekly meetings followed, with rating agencies, attorneys, accountants, and investor roadshows all layered in.
“It was a nine-month effort, with six months of heavy lifting,” McCarroll said. “Even something as simple as coordinating calendars across three credit unions for reviews and calls was a challenge. Add in all the moving parts—legal documents, data prep, rating agencies—and it was a complex transaction to execute.”
Despite the complexity, the deal succeeded. The $150 million in bonds were sold to strong investor demand, with tranches multiple times oversubscribed. For Alloya, the project built on its long-standing loan participation program and extended its role as facilitator of cooperative capital-markets strategies.
What’s Next For Credit Unions
Both Kohl and McCarroll stressed that this deal is just the start.
“We want to be a regular issuer in this market,” Kohl said. “This template proves that cooperation can unlock opportunities that wouldn’t be possible individually.”
For credit unions, the message is straightforward: securitization is no longer just for the biggest players. With Alloya’s multi-issuer approach, a new path exists to diversify funding, manage balance sheets, and build resilience against future liquidity swings.
“This gives credit unions another lever to pull,” McCarroll said. “Having an additional liquidity source—especially one that connects us to outside investors—is a smart way to prepare for whatever comes next.”
Alloya recently received the 2025 Auto Finance Excellence Award, presented by Auto Finance News, for this multi-issuer asset-backed securitization.