A small Pittsburgh credit union, ACBA Fed, whose staff includes current and retired state employees, went to bat this week for its hard-pressed members in a big way, more than doubling its loan volume with no credit checks as the state budget crisis drags on for a second week.

"We are here to support our members and we feel this is the right thing to do," said Mark McCormick, the CEO of the $4 million CU, which has already issued 698 new loans, more than half of the 1,000 the CU typically extends in a year to its 800 members. "We're simply swamped."

Since the crisis began, the CU, using volunteers and family members to help manage the work load, has seen "more than 600 applications come in" as state employees with reduced or no pay began receiving their full salary via the initially interest-free loans.