527: Credit Unions Have Become Mainstream

In the past decade, Credit Unions have become more mainstream and a common source of commercial lending. As consolidation in the banking industry as depleted the number of community banks, Credit Unions have been filling the breach. Credit Unions are non-profit entities owned by their customers, or “members.” They’re easy and flexible to work with and often have lower fees and lower borrowing rates. They offer no pre-payment penalties on commercial loans, they have less stringent approval requirements than banks, and may be more willing to accept applicants with less than perfect credit.