NEW YORK – CIT Group Inc. and MicroBilt Corp. have come together to create a new commercial lending and leasing referral program designed for credit unions and other financial institutions. The MicroBilt Financial Business Loan Program will provide CUs with access to its business loan services through its CreditCommander.com platform, according to both companies. Credit unions and CUSOs can also enhance existing business lending programs with SBA loans and equipment financing through the new program. SBA loans from CIT Small Business Lending, a subsidiary of CIT Group, and equipment financing options through CIT Office & Technology Finance, a unit of CIT Vendor Finance, will be available. “We believe that small business services represent the most significant growth opportunity for credit unions and community banks,” said Kenneth Hill, president MicroBilt, a credit bureau data access and retrieval firm. “But many institutions lack the necessary resources to be successful in business lending.” The development of the program is essentially for “credit unions and financial institutions that want to enter the business lending market, but are concerned with the staffing, costs, risks, and time,” both firms said. The new venture aims to expand what CUs can offer its members, said Tom Hallman, CIT's vice chairman for specialty finance. MicroBilt has served credit unions for 28 years, Hill said, adding “CIT was the clear choice for its leadership in this sector as a non-bank lender.”