Compared to banks, credit unions have not been a big player in the small business loan segment with $56 billion in Member Business Loans (MBL) compared to $585 billion as tracked by SBA.gov. But that is about to change, now that the NCUA voted to strip a number of restrictions on MBL.
Credit union commercial loan growth has been steady during the 15 years examined here. More importantly, it has been resilient during the last two recessions according to Filene Research, suggesting that credit unions can buoy both lending growth and, as a consequence, overall business activity. To hammer this point home, at the 2016 CUNA GAC, Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) stated, “Credit unions did not underwrite the bad loans that sank the housing market. On the contrary, you upheld sound underwriting standards to protect consumers, even as it cost you customers and market share went to financial predators that circled those troubled waters”.