Member Business Lending Plans National Market

SALT LAKE CITY – Member Business Lending, the largest MBL CUSO in the country, announced yesterday it is expanding into Hawaii, where a new market is burgeoning for credit unions. “We’re taking this nationwide,” Bethanie Werner, market specialist for the CUSO, told The Credit Union Journal yesterday. MBL LLC, which was founded by Utah credit union giants Mountain America FCU and America First FCU, has grown to serve 22 credit unions in nine states, providing them with a full range of MBL services, including originations, risk analysis, auditing, processing and servicing. With $105 million in business loans being serviced, the CUSO has originated 40% of all credit union loans guaranteed under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7a program, according to Werner. MBL LLC has big plans for the Hawaii market, where just 10 of the Island State’s 96 credit unions offer business loan services. Baron Nakamura, former vice president of member business services at Honolulu FCU, will be the Hawaii regional manager.