WASHINGTON -- With an annual growth of 18.1% in June for a total outstanding balance of $24.6 billion, member business loans continue to be the fastest growing loan category for credit unions, according to Callahan & Associates.
There are now 2,022 credit unions offering member business loans, said Nick Connors, an industry analyst with Callahan. That translates into nearly 25% of all credit unions offering this type of loan and an increase from 17.3% that offered them in 2004. Commercial real estate loans comprised 93% of all business loans at credit unions, Callahan noted.
Connors said with many small businesses struggling to obtain credit, the trend has led to demand at credit unions. The timing is ripe, he added, to expand business services to products such as business lines of credit, business credit cards and smaller-value loans.
--msamaad@cutimes.com
