While the banking industry and credit unions are tangling over field of membership nationally, in this market, two area credit unions have joined with a handful of banks to expand a microenterprise loan program.
The $50,000 commitments by Sunmark FCU and First New York FCU and the banks will push the Schenectady County Community Business Center fund to $650,000, with a goal of $1 million by early next year. The new funding will also allow the small business incubator to increase the loans limits to $50,000, from the current $35,000.
The fund is run by a board representing each of the participating lenders, as well as the N.Y. Business Development Corp. and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
