TruMark Financial Credit Union is not new to the student lending market-in fact, it has been making such loans for decades. However, when the Obama administration made changes to federal student lending in July, the Trevose, Pa.-based CU revised its products and services. To help members fill the gap between federal funding and the actual costs of college, the credit union chose to partner with a CUSO, Credit Union Student Choice, to offer private loans.

Since CUSC's founding in 2008, its CU clients have funded more than $260 million in private student loans to nearly 20,000 students. The CUSO's 160 credit union partners range in size from $20 million in assets to nearly $9 billion.

The $1.3 billion TruMark is projecting about $1 million a year in student loan applications for the first couple of years, according to Chief Lending Officer Lisa H. Albany. Although student loans are currently a small percentage of the CU's assets, "we would like to see student lending become a larger part of our loan portfolio and our future growth strategies," she said.