INSIGHTS
The Lending Brief newsletter, plus posts and research — current thinking on federal credit, lending trends, policy, and modernization.
Research & Commentary
SEPTEMBER 2026
The Federal Loan Systems Modernization Act of 2026 would authorize a shared lending platform built on commercially available loan-management technology, with GSA responsible for acquisition and OMB for coordination. Program authorities stay where Congress placed them. What consolidates is the back office, meaning intake, underwriting workflow, servicing, document management, and fraud detection. Operations are funded by a cost-recovery fee agencies pay from the accounts they already use to run their existing systems.
Read →August 2026
On August 4, 2026, a bipartisan group of lawmakers circulated a Dear Colleague letter highlighting efforts to modernize the technology supporting federal lending programs.
Read →JULY FORUM RECAP
Recap of the Center's July federal student lending forum
Read →July 2026
An updated look at how the federal student loan portfolio faces a second wave of defaults. Here's what the data show and what should happen next.
Read →July 2026
The federal student loan portfolio faces a second wave of defaults. Here's what the data show and what should happen next.
Read →July 2026
Before Washington determines whether to sell its $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, it should reckon with its own accounting rules and volatile repayment policies.
Read →June 2026
Ensuring availability of critical minerals required bold, targeted action. Financing critical medicines will require the same resolve — tailored to the distinct economics of drugs.
Read →June 2026
Smarter underwriting, better servicing, and modern technology can unlock billions in additional lending without increasing federal spending.
Read →April 2026
The U.S. government's increasingly becoming an equity investor. That can be defensible. The way it's happening is not.
Read →June 2026
This analysis provides objective insights to inform congressional consideration of the Federal Loan Systems Modernization Act.
Read →The Lending Brief
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Victoria Collin, Acting Administrator of USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service, for a look at one of the most ambitious modernization efforts in federal lending.
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ISSUE #7
September 18, 2026
Newsletter September 2026
SBA rewrites the 7(a)/504 rulebook. DOE reboots a nuclear plant. We ran the numbers on Lending.gov.
Episode #19
September 9, 2026
The Case for Mission-Driven Performance Data
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Sarah Cunningham, partner at Summit Consulting and founder of its financial management practice, and Shelley Metzenbaum, founding president of the Volcker Alliance and director of the Better Project, for a conversation about the question federal credit has never fully answered: are these programs actually doing what they were designed to do?
Episode #18
August 26, 2026
The Golden Age of Federal Credit
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Anthony Curcio, founder of Summit Consulting and a 20-year veteran of federal credit policy, for a practitioner's guide to what it takes to stand up a new federal loan program.
ISSUE #6
August 20, 2026
Newsletter August 2026
$438K salaries, seven-figure pay cuts, and a $200B lending mandate — federal credit has never been this fashionable.
Episode #17
August 12, 2026
Building the Infrastructure for Federal Lending Reform w/ the Team
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we turn the mic inward. Doug Criscitello is joined by Center teammates Jay Hurt and Kate Aaby for a progress report on what the Center has been building, and what's coming next.
Episode #16
August 10, 2026
Connecting Federal Credit to Workforce and Economic Development
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Joanna Mikulski, founder of Mikulski Strategies and former policy advisor at the Biden White House Domestic Policy Council, for a conversation that bridges the worlds of federal credit, workforce development, and economic policy.
Issue #5
July 16, 2026
Newsletter July 2026
SBA announced a new rule, effective July 4, allowing eligible borrowers to combine 7(a) and 504 loans for up to $10 million in SBA-backed financing, doubling the previous $5 million cumulative cap. Under the new policy, borrowers who secure a 7(a) loan first may access up to $5 million through each program.
Podcast #15
July 9, 2026
How Federal Credit Modeling Has Grown Up
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Roman Iwachiw, founder of FI Consulting and a 25-year veteran of federal credit analytics, for a candid look at how the government's approach to managing its $5 trillion lending portfolio has evolved, and where it still falls short.
Issue #4
June 18, 2026
Newsletter June 2026
On June 4, USDA announced that it’s consolidating more than 130 loan and grant systems, some dating to 1968, into a single modern platform. The new system is meant to carry roughly 1.2 million active files with one customer record, online intake and eligibility tools, and online payments.
Podcast #14
June 10, 2026
Lender of Last Opportunity: Federal Credit, Nuclear Energy, and the Infrastructure Gap
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending’s The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we’re joined by Owen Barwell, five-time CFO of multiple federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, for a wide-ranging conversation on the role of federal lending in financing what private capital won’t touch.
Podcast #13
May 27, 2026
The Envy of the World- US Housing Finance in a Global Context
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Liz Kamins, a 25-year veteran of housing finance and former senior leader at Fannie Mae, for a global tour of mortgage market innovation.
Issue #3
May 21, 2026
Newsletter May 2026
Matt Lira argues in FedScoop that the $5 trillion federal credit portfolio, spread across 135+ programs on separate systems, is failing borrowers less on eligibility than on navigation. He makes the case for Lending.gov, a bill that would drive back-office shared infrastructure for credit agencies while leaving agency loan-making authority intact.
Podcast #12
May 13, 2026
$1.6 Trillion Rollercoaster- the Federal Student Loan Portfolio
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Jay Hurt, former CFO of the Office of Federal Student Aid and a 34-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Education, for a candid look at one of the federal government's most complex and politically charged credit programs.
Podcast #11
April 29, 2026
Inside FHA and the Future of Housing Finance
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Jeffrey Little, former senior executive at the Federal Housing Administration and current Deputy Director of the National Leased Housing Association, for a behind-the-scenes look at the federal government’s largest housing credit program.
Issue #2
April 16, 2026
Newsletter April 2026
Government Executive covered the Federal Loan Systems Modernization Act as a structural shift, not just a tech upgrade: agencies would face a clear choice to migrate to the shared platform or justify staying on their own.
Podcast #10
April 15, 2026
$1.7 Trillion in Student Loans, Who’s Going to Manage Them?
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by Kyle Shohfi, an education policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service, for an inside look at the federal student loan portfolio and the seismic policy shifts reshaping it.
March 19, 2026
Newsletter March 2026
Podcast #9
March 18, 2026
From Field Offices to $220B: Inside USDA’s Lending Empire
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending’s The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we sit down with longtime USDA leader Roger Glendenning for a sweeping look at one of the federal government’s largest and most complex lending portfolios.
Podcast #8
March 4, 2026
An Inside look at the SBA’s Pandemic Response
In this episode of The Center for USA Lending's The Lending Brief, sponsored by Allocore, we're joined by two veterans of the Small Business Administration, Kate Aaby, former CFO, and Steve Kucharski, former CIO, for a candid look at what it actually took to run the Paycheck Protection Program.
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