Credit unions in New York originated $695 million in business loans during the first three months of 2012.

Overall, business loans increased 14.6% during that time period.

“As the numbers show, New York's credit unions have been doing a great job of working with small businesses to get them the loans they need–especially at a time when the financial crisis of the past few years has resulted in a reduction of available business credit from traditional banking outlets,” said William Mellin, president/CEO of the Credit Union Association of New York, in a statement.

One of New York's largest cooperatives, the $4.7 billion Bethpage Federal Credit Union, recently surveyed more than 600 Long Island businesses to gauge their financial needs. While only 6% of businesses said they used a credit union as a source of finance, 43% said they would likely borrow money from them if Congress were to raise the amount that credit unions can lend to small businesses, the data showed.