The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to stunt the growth of credit union auto lending, but that essential product remains a major part of the movement's loan portfolio.

While some measures, such as market share, dipped year over year, loan quality – as measured by delinquencies – has held up well through the economic upheaval, according to Callahan & Associates' analysis of third quarter 2020 data from the NCUA, the most recent available.

In fact, delinquency in the third quarter hit its lowest mark since 2013. While some of this improvement in asset quality can be chalked up to credit unions deferring payments on auto loans during the pandemic, this is still an impressive measure. It is worth noting that while delinquency is at a healthy level on average across the industry, until more information is available related to the proportion of loans in deferment and forbearance, this is only one view of member health.