DeWITT — Countryside Federal Credit Union agreed this morning to participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) main business loan program.
Countryside Federal is now a lender in the SBA’s 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program. That lending program has the SBA back long-term financing for firms that borrow to purchase equipment, machinery, inventory, fixtures, accessories, renovations, land, and existing businesses. Companies can also use 7(a) loans to finance new building and to repay some debts.
“We think it’s going to be a great aid to our business members,” Countryside Federal CEO Gerd Henjes says. “That’s one segment that I think has been kind of ignored by credit unions. The more we can do for small businesses, the better our country is going to be moving forward economically.”
DeWitt–based Countryside Federal becomes the 10th credit union to be a 7(a) lender in the SBA’s 34-county Syracuse district.
“It frees up a whole lot more money for the credit union to be able to lend,” SBA Syracuse District Director Bernard Paprocki says. “It’s a significant tool to be able to increase access to credit.”
Countryside Federal had 6,511 members and nearly $134.2 million in total assets as of the end of June of this year. It employs 16 people, all at its headquarters at 5720 Commons Park Drive.