LOMBARD, Ill. — Credit unions are sandwiched in between leasing companies and insurance companies as the provider of choice for small business owners, according to a new survey.

Raddon Financial Group's SPSG Spring 2007 Lending and Small Business survey showed that 92% of small businesses use a commercial bank as their financial institution. Credit unions were tied with leasing companies at 7% and insurance companies were used by 8% of respondents. Next to commercial banks, finance companies came in second at 30%. The numbers get even smaller for credit unions when respondents were asked about their "primary" financial institution. Only 1% use credit unions compared to 92% for commercial banks, 6% for savings banks and 2% for savings and loan associations.

In addition to its survey, Raddon looked at the Federal Reserve Board's 2003 survey of small business finances. Using year-end 2003 information for financial data captured, 4,240 small business firms, categorized as nonfarm entities with fewer than 500 employees, were surveyed.