When Seeking Funding, Credit Unions Can Be Worth Checking OutMore credit unions are offering business loans, and their interest rates and fees are often lower than at commercial banks. What's more, their loan officers typically have more flexibility and decision-making ability than those at larger institutions.

While only offered at roughly a third of all credit unions, business loans are the fastest-growing segment of these member-owned institutions' loan portfolios, showing double-digit growth in three of the past five years. Could acredit unionbe the answer to your financial needs?

"Because credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives, we don't have to make a lot of money," says Mike Schenk, vice president of economics and statistics with Credit Union National Association (CUNA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization. "You'll often find interest rates and fees lower than at commercial banks, and because the small-business borrowers are members, the credit union leadership is often likely to have more flexibility in lending to them."