Small Businesses Get a Boost from Nonprofit Lenders

I am a huge proponent of people starting their own business—it is the American Dream to be successful at your own business!! Thank goodness that our government is focused on making it easier for small businesses to acquire loans. Community development financial institutions or CDFIs are certified nonprofit banks, credit unions, funds and venture capitalists which have been set up by the government to offer loans in low income and under-served urban and rural areas.

A Klipinger.com article explains how CDIFs can be more flexible. Read on!

Moving Your Money? Then Try a Credit Union

From The HuffingtonPost.com:

We applaud the call for folks to move their money to local financial institutions; we just think that call should also include credit unions.

Credit unions, not-for-profit, member-owned financial institutions, have been widely recognized for their prudent business practices and great service. A key reason for this is that "profits" are returned to members in the form of lower fees and competitive rates.

This investment has paid off: Today, credit unions serve approximately 92 million members.

Federal credit unions also offer great rates on all types of loans, including automobiles, cars, credit cards, and mortgages. Credit card interest rates and other loans cannot exceed 18 percent at federal credit unions and usually average much lower. You can go to www.nafcu.org/dailyrates and compare rates between credit unions and banks.

In addition, while banks were tightening their commercial lending, credit unions member business loans have increased nearly 17 percent since Sept. 2008. In fact, through the third quarter of 2009, credit unions provided over 139,000 loans for a total of nearly $28 billion to their members.