More Credit Unions Can Make SBA Loans SBA announced that all credit unions will be allowed to participate in its lending programs. For many years, SBA has allowed only credit unions with community charters to lend through its programs. “This unnecessarily restricted the flow of guaranteed small business credit to most of America’s 83 million credit union members,” the Credit Union National Association said in a statement. SBA said it expects as many as 1,500 of the more than 10,000 credit unions to join its network of lenders. “We can reach more communities, a greater number of entrepreneurs and a more diverse pool of prospective and existing small business men and women,” Administrator Hector Barreto said. The American Bankers Association protested the change, saying it allows credit unions, which are tax-exempt, to compete with tax-paying banks.