PHILADELPHIA and EWING, N.J. — All of the traditional routes to bring business lending to members at Credit Union of New Jersey were considered, but ultimately, all agreed having a "local flavor" became the guidepost.

The $197 million CUNJ along with $553 million Philadelphia Federal Credit Union joined forces in October 2006 to form East Coast Business Lenders, LLC, a CUSO set up to help the two and other credit unions form and expand relationships with business members and select employee groups. ECBL, which opened for business in April, offers loan origination and underwriting, preparation and recording of loan documents, loan portfolio management and drafting of and annual reviews of a credit union's member business lending policy.

A few years back, CUNJ identified the need to offer business lending based on member demand and the opportunities the credit union's unique charter makeup–state and multiple, common bond–could possibly bring, said Andrew Jaeger, president/CEO. CUNJ explored the idea of offering business lending directly from within and partnering with an existing CUSO for underwriting and referring applications to it ["the cheapest and quickest way"]. The third option and the one that had legs was forming a regional member business lending CUSO "where you get the benefits of a local underwriter but are able to share the costs with other local credit unions."