For its aggressive small business lending efforts, Centris Federal Credit Union has been honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The $449 million credit union in Omaha, Neb., recently received the SBA's award for Nebraska's Rural/Community Lender of the Year. The award is given to local lenders that dedicate their commercial lending operations to building new businesses and create new jobs.

Centris said it embarked on an aggressive campaign to increase its SBA lending three years ago, leveraging the SBA's Express loan programs to increase loan volume from $390,000 on its books in 2007 to $6.5 million to small businesses by the end of fiscal year 2010. Twenty-four new loans totaling $4 million were distributed that year.