Top 5 Lending Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2026

At this time of year, there’s always a flurry of white papers dominating the financial editorials and your LinkedIn feed. At best, the endless 2026 forecasts can seem duplicative, and at worst, overwhelming.

That’s why we’ve done the legwork for you.

We’ve scoured the research, news and OpEds for five lending trends that will move the needle in 2026, not just grab the headlines.

1. The Rise of Agentic AI

Over the last 18-24 months, AI—or more accurately, the fintech ecosystem monetizing it—has graduated from automating simple member service queries to directing core lending operations. Now, “Agentic AI” is here.

In addition to mimicking humans to manage more complex member interactions (technology that unfortunately the fraudsters also employ) Agentic AI will manage multi-step workflows: Reading documents, validating compliance, removing bias, escalating exceptions etc.

All of this should allow CLOs to scale lending capacity without increasing headcount. Perhaps the concierge service we predicted in an early 22 Minutes in Lending episode may finally be here?

2. Faster Fraud, More Frequently

As mentioned above, one of the downsides of a smarter, more intuitive and “human” digital experience is that the bad guys have the same technology. Multiple forecasts are pretty blunt in their outlook for 2026: Financial crimes are escalating, enabled in no small part by our own innovations.

In addition to the risk posed by masquerading AI, the realities of instant payments are also rewriting the risk rules. Instant payments are final; no window to recall something issued in error or triggered by fraud. When this was rolled out in the UK—as long ago as 2008—the so-called “authorized push payment” (APP) scams were so prevalent, legislation was introduced to better protect consumers.

The need for CLOs to plan and strategize in lockstep with CIOs and CROs has never been greater.

3. Deposits to Remain Flighty

Another common if uncomfortable truth that multiple sources are projecting for 2026 is that deposits will be harder to win and more expensive to keep—and your competitors know this, too.

Credit unions should expect sustained pressure from alternative lenders, digital-first banks and the latest, shiniest fintech, all of whom are far more aggressive in going after balances, and far more digitally-savvy (read “cost effective”, “targeted”, “sticky” etc.) in how they do it.

Retaining deposits may not be straightforward, either. One forecast in particular cites an estimated $1.6 trillion in CDs that will mature in a new, lower-rate environment. It’s a Sophie’s Choice for credit unions: Risk deposit flight as members shop around at renewal time or pay-up to keep what you have.

4. Compartmental Credit Stress

Much of the smart 2026 commentary isn’t screaming “credit crisis” (not that it’s awash with positivity, however) but it is warning against something subtler.

It’s no great news that delinquencies ticked up in 2025, with the overall delinquency rate reaching 95 basis points in Q3, up 4bps year-on-year one year. At the same time, net charge-offs were relatively flat … that matters.

That spread is indicative of compartmental credit stress: While more members are starting to slip, the same number are fully failing. It calls for a review of credit and risk policies because somehow, somewhere, some products, member segments or entire communities are getting riskier even while the averages look fine. Addressing that now can nip any potential liquidity problems in the bud.

5. Pace Demands Partnerships

Agentic AI, tackling fraud at the speed of light, keeping deposits sticky, uncovering unseen pockets of credit risk—not to mention an increased onus on internal controls over federal regulations—mean it’s hardly surprising a lot of predictions place partnerships paramount for the 12 months ahead.

Simply put, disruption no longer comes in waves; it just is. The pace of change is so ever-present that credit unions no longer need to consider whether they should buy or build to improve lending efficiencies, but rather determine where they need distribution or capability, and which partners already hold those keys.

In 2026, the signs are pointing towards greater embedded finance, loan participation platforms and point-of-need lending. All options LendKey has in its locker. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you navigate 2026 and beyond.