CU Lending Collective

AI‑Powered Lending, Built for Small Credit Unions

Commonwealth Credit Union, in partnership with Zest AI—a leader in AI‑powered credit underwriting solutions—created CU Lending Collective, a first‑of‑its‑kind CUSO designed to help small credit unions adopt and deploy advanced AI‑powered lending technology. CU Lending Collective provides a practical, compliant, and accessible way for smaller institutions to modernize lending, strengthen decisioning, and better serve their communities.

A Purpose‑Built Solution for Small Credit Unions

Many community‑based credit unions work hard to approve more members, compete with national lenders, and meet rising regulatory expectations—all while operating with limited resources. CU Lending Collective was designed specifically to address these challenges by offering:

• AI‑powered credit scoring models tailored for small credit unions

• Improved accuracy in assessing credit risk across auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards

• Robust compliance support, including fair‑lending and model‑risk‑management documentation and transparent reason codes

• Operational guidance grounded in real lending experience from Commonwealth Credit Union

• Technology deployment, hosting, and ongoing monitoring supported by Zest AI

By combining Commonwealth Credit Union’s proven lending performance with Zest AI’s underwriting expertise, CU Lending Collective enables credit unions of any size to responsibly expand access to credit while strengthening risk management.

Strengthening the Credit Union Industry

CU Lending Collective reflects Commonwealth Credit Union’s belief in lifting up the credit union movement as a whole. Drawing on real‑world lending results—including credit growth and strong portfolio performance achieved using Zest AI’s technology—this model provides a repeatable way for small credit unions to modernize lending without the cost or complexity of building AI systems independently.

Learn More About CU Lending Collective