Credit unions found reason to celebrate recently, with the National Credit Union Administration revealing that unions saw their biggest quarterly push in lending since fall 2008.

According to the report, released on Friday, credit unions signed off on $581.7 billion in outstanding total loans over the second quarter. The uptick marks the fifth straight quarterly increase for total loans and helped credit unions originate 1.7 percent more home loans from the quarter before.

Auto loans also accounted for some of the increases, with new and used loans for cars ticking up by 2.8 percent.

The boost in lending helped increase total assets to $1 trillion for credit unions, a first for the quarter before, with growth

chugging forward by $5.9 billion over the second quarter.

Credit unions tallied up their net worth ratio at 10.16 points, reflecting an increase by 15 basis points over the first quarter.

The exodus from banks that first materialized last fall apparently went forward over the second quarter, with membership with credit unions rising by 643,322 individuals.

More than 93 million members deposited some $2.7 billion in savings accordingly, with overall numbers declining from 7,019 to 6,960 among federally backed credit unions over the second quarter.

That continues to help credit unions grow nationally. The report found that credit union net worth picked up by 2.1 percent, with it rising from $100.3 billion to $102.4 billion.

“Lending is the investment needed to support a recovering economy. So, the largest quarterly increase since the fall of 2008 demonstrates that credit unions are playing an important role in efforts to create jobs, stimulate small businesses, and revitalize communities,” NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said in a statement.

“The credit union industry’s performance further strengthened in almost every category. Assets, earnings, and net worth rose, as charge-offs, bankruptcy filings, and loan loss reserves declined. Credit unions continued to add a significant number of members and now serve more than 93 million Americans,” she added.