WASHINGTON — The $812 million Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union is the latest to sign on with Credit Union Student Choice, a new private student loan program CUSO.

“Many of our members do not qualify for federal student aid, but still need assistance with the increasing cost of higher education for their families,” said Rick Thornburg, senior vice president, lending at Eli Lilly FCU. “Instead of referring members to a bank or other for-profit lender, we want to strengthen relationships and provide credit union value by working directly with our members in this area.”

Eli Lilly FCU is one of the largest single sponsor credit unions in the country with nearly 35,000 members.

Thornburg said having the ability to offer its own student loan program could not have come at a better time.

“Every day we're hearing about traditional student lenders exiting the market or raising rates due to problems in the capital markets,” Thornburg said. “Well, we don't need to access the capital or secondary markets. We are balance sheet lenders. That gives us a competitive advantage in this area of lending where we haven't had a presence until now.”