Lending

A program developed by the Filene Institute's i3 initiative has won a $300,000 grant from the Center for Financial Services Innovation to roll out a program that will reward CU members who have low FICO scores for making loan payments on time.

Unemployment, rising debt and financial uncertainty are continuing to change the perception of those who are using payday loans.

While Harborstone Credit Union has been offering business loans since 2002, the Lakewood, Wash.-based cooperative could not have predicted how great member demand would be for the SBA’s programs.

Part of the fallout from the mortgage meltdown is the debate on what constitutes a qualified mortgage.

On issues such as debit interchange and limiting the growth of future regulations, banks and credit unions are on the same side of the political divide. On others, such as credit unions tax-exempt status and raising the cap on member business lending, the industries interests diverge.

Here we go again. Saying that it would “expand the options for small businesses at no expense to taxpayers,” Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) last week reintroduced a measure to raise the cap on member business lending from 12.25% of assets to as much as 27.5% of assets.