Free Decision Kit: equipment financing

Equipment financing your business members need, without the team you don't have.

Credit unions can enter the equipment finance market through origination partners that handle underwriting, documentation and servicing from end to end.

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Six sections in one PDF, sent to your inbox: the category landscape, buy box, Amur profile, alternatives overview, illustrative ROI model and 90-day pilot roadmap.

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$1.34T

in U.S. equipment and software investment financed in 2023

~80%

of U.S. businesses finance or lease equipment rather than buying outright

Sources for these figures are under "What the data says" below.

The state of equipment financing in credit unions

A $1.3 trillion market where credit unions hold a small share

Equipment financing is one of the largest commercial lending opportunities in front of credit unions. U.S. businesses financed about $1.34 trillion of equipment and software through loans, leases and lines of credit in 2023. Banks, captive lenders and independent finance companies dominate the market, while credit unions hold a small share despite ample liquidity and business members who need the product. Most credit unions that enter do so indirectly, buying whole loans or participations from specialized originators instead of building origination from scratch.

Adoption has picked up modestly over the last 18 months, pushed by balance sheets that need earning assets with better yields than compressed investment portfolios. But it's uneven. Credit unions above $1B in assets are more likely to have explored the asset class, while community credit unions often lack the credit expertise, vendor relationships and servicing infrastructure to launch alone. The main blockers are examiner comfort with the collateral type, board unfamiliarity with equipment lending and the work of running a new loan vertical. Turnkey origination-to-servicing partners are filling that gap.

Category trends

Where the category is heading

Portfolio diversification pressure

Credit unions are looking for commercial assets beyond auto and real estate, and equipment finance is a natural entry point because the loans are collateralized and self-amortizing.

Yield is driving balance sheet decisions

Higher rates through 2023 and 2024 made equipment loan yields more attractive than investment securities, so balance sheet committees are moving liquidity toward purchased commercial loans.

More room, not more expertise

NCUA's 2016 member business lending rule gave credit unions more flexibility, but a lack of in-house equipment finance expertise remains the most-cited barrier to launching a program.

Indirect models are gaining ground

In vendor-facilitated lending, a partner originates and the credit union purchases or participates. It's a lower-cost way into the asset class without specialist staff.

Member relationships are at stake

Small business members ask their credit unions for equipment financing. When the answer is no, a bank or fintech fills the request and deepens a competing relationship.

What the data says about equipment financing for credit unions

$1.34 trillion

U.S. equipment and software investment financed through loans, leases and lines of credit in 2023

Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, 2024 Horizon Report

~80%

Share of U.S. businesses that finance or lease equipment rather than buying it outright

Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), 2023

<5%

Estimated share of credit unions offering equipment financing as a distinct product line

Industry-reported, 2024

Three problems keeping credit unions out of equipment finance

Most credit unions see the opportunity but can't act on it. The blockers aren't strategic; they're operational.

No product to offer

Business members ask for equipment financing and go elsewhere to find it, often taking the relationship and their deposits with them to a bank or fintech that said yes.

Yield-starved balance sheets

Your balance sheet needs higher-yielding, collateralized assets to improve net interest margin, but there's no pipeline and no team to build one. Investment securities aren't keeping up.

Expertise and infrastructure gaps

Equipment valuation, UCC filings and commercial underwriting take specialized knowledge most credit unions don't have on staff. Building it in-house means hiring, training and new systems, a 12- to 18-month project.

Everything your exec team needs to decide on equipment financing

The kit has six sections. Get it as a PDF in your inbox, or read the highlights on this page.

01 Category landscape

Where credit unions stand in the equipment finance market, what's driving adoption and what still holds most institutions back, written to brief your exec team quickly.

02 The vendor-agnostic buy box

Eight criteria for evaluating any equipment finance partner, written for board-level review. Use it whichever partner you consider.

03 Featured partner profile

Amur's origination model, equipment coverage, partnership structures and risk factors, written for due diligence, with the items to verify directly with the vendor.

04 Alternatives overview

A side-by-side summary of other equipment finance partners, including Channel Partners Capital and Navitas, so your team can compare fit.

05 Illustrative ROI model

Conservative, base and optimistic scenarios showing yield, credit loss and margin impact for credit unions from $500M to $1.5B in assets. Results will vary.

06 The 90-day pilot roadmap

A phase-by-phase plan covering due diligence, board approval, first loan purchases and the portfolio performance review.

Evaluation criteria

The minimum buy box for any equipment finance partner

Check these criteria with every partner you talk to, not just the one featured here. Don't sign until you can check all eight. The status column shows Amur's current standing, based on vendor-stated claims and CU 2.0 analysis.

Proven credit union experience ✓ Met

End-to-end origination and servicing ✓ Met

Flexible participation or whole-loan purchase structures ✓ Met

Broad equipment type and geographic coverage ✓ Met

Member business lending compliance support ✓ Met

Transparent credit quality and portfolio reporting ! Unconfirmed

Competitive yields against market benchmarks ! Unconfirmed

Third-party due diligence documentation package ! Unconfirmed

From board approval to live equipment loans in 90 days

Days 1–30

Foundation and approval

Sign the partnership agreement and NDA with Amur Equipment Finance.
Review Amur's origination, underwriting and servicing practices.
Take the program proposal to the board and loan committee for approval.
Set the purchase approval workflow, authority limits and concentration guidelines.
Set up loan boarding on your core for equipment loan purchases and participations.

Days 31–60

First loans and validation

Review and approve the first tranche of equipment loans from Amur's pipeline.
Board the first loans and check payment processing and reporting.
Build a portfolio performance report for your balance sheet committee.
Train staff on portfolio oversight and exception handling.
Prepare program documentation for your next supervisory contact.

Days 61–90

Review and scale

Measure the first loans against yield, credit quality and deployment targets.
Adjust purchase criteria or volume based on the first 60 days.
Report portfolio performance and an updated deployment plan to the board.
Review pipeline capacity and volume with your Amur relationship manager.
Document lessons learned and refine monitoring and reporting.

ROI model: illustrative only

The ROI case in two numbers

These figures are illustrative only. The conservative scenario assumes a 5.50% average net yield and 50 bps of credit losses; the base scenario assumes 6.25% and 35 bps. Funding costs and program fees aren't included. Your results will vary; confirm yield and loss data with your partner.

~$250K

Annual income after credit losses for a $500M credit union deploying $5M, conservative scenario: $5M at 5.50% less 0.50%

~12 bps

Added income on assets for a $750M credit union deploying $15M, base scenario: $15M at 6.25% less 0.35%, divided by $750M

Illustrative only. Your results will vary. Both figures are full-year, before funding costs and program fees.

What your exec team will ask before they approve

Our board is wary of commercial lending concentrations. How do we approach examiner questions on equipment loans?

Ask your compliance team how purchased equipment loans and participations are treated under NCUA Part 723, including the member business lending limit. For examiner conversations, documentation matters most: your partner should provide credit files, portfolio performance reports and evidence of its underwriting standards before your next supervisory contact. A partner that can't produce that package on request is a disqualifier.

What are the real credit risks in equipment finance?

Equipment gives you recovery value even in a downturn, which is why losses have generally run lower than on unsecured small business lending. But some equipment types depreciate faster than others, and small business borrowers are sensitive to the economy. Ask every partner for historical delinquency and charge-off data by equipment type, not just a portfolio average.

How much staff time does this take? We're not adding headcount.

In a full-service indirect model, your team approves purchases and oversees the portfolio; the partner handles origination, documentation and servicing. In practice that means reviewing loan files before purchase and a quarterly portfolio report. Time depends on volume and how your loan committee works, so confirm the workflow with any partner before you sign.

What if we decide Amur isn't the right fit?

That's a legitimate outcome, and you have real options. Channel Partners Capital focuses on small-ticket, essential-use equipment participations and suits credit unions starting at lower volume. Navitas offers whole-loan purchase programs across several equipment types. Run any partner through the same buy box before you choose.

What asset size does this model suit?

Amur's program is designed for credit unions from $250M to $10B+ in assets (vendor-stated). Around $250M is the practical floor, with enough balance sheet capacity to deploy meaningful volume and justify the due diligence. Credit unions without member business lending authority generally aren't a fit until they have it.

Do we need to change our core system to board equipment loans?

Generally not, for a basic participation or whole-loan purchase program. Loans are boarded as standard commercial loan participations on your existing core, whether that's Symitar, DNA, Corelation or another platform, and Amur handles origination, documentation and servicing. Confirm boarding procedures with Amur and your core provider before your first purchase.

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Bring the decision to your exec team.

Get the kit: the buy box, partner profile, ROI model and 90-day pilot roadmap in one PDF.

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All adoption and usage statistics are labeled as vendor-stated or publicly reported. ROI figures are illustrative only; your results will vary. Pricing and contract terms must be confirmed directly with the vendor. See our Methodology and Disclosures pages.

Content on this page is for informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, legal or regulatory advice. CU 2.0 isn't a broker-dealer, investment advisor or registered financial institution. Featured partners may compensate CU 2.0.