CUBG Buys Member Business Lending of Utah Creating 'Powerhouse CUSO'

CU Business Group acquired Member Business Lending, LLC, on Monday for an undisclosed sum.

Member Business Lending of Draper, Utah, 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, was a 17-year-old CUSO owned by 39 credit unions. Its client base was 59 credit unions.

CU Business Group (CUBG) of Portland, Ore., was founded in 2002 and is owned by six corporate credit unions with more than $20 billion in assets.

CUBG President/CEO Larry Middleman said the CUSO will be acquiring the staff and clients of Member Business Lending. With the acquisition, CUBG now has a staff of 62 business services professionals and is the largest business services CUSO in the industry, serving more than 600 credit unions in 48 states.

Complete integration of the CUSOs will take 12 to 18 months; credit unions can begin accessing the services of both organizations right away.

“We have many clients who use both CUSOs today and look forward to offering all of them a more comprehensive suite of commercial lending and deposit services,” Middleman said. “Enhancing CUBG’s SBA and loan servicing capabilities allows a more complete, end-to-end solution for all aspects of credit union commercial lending.”

A news release from CUBG Monday said the combination “will create one powerhouse CUSO featuring CUBG’s commercial lending, business deposit consulting, participations and education services coupled with MBL’s proven capabilities in SBA lending and loan servicing.”

“Both CUSOs’ commitment to technology will allow for more efficient processes and better access to platforms that support commercial lending,” it said.

The credit union owners of Member Business Lending were advised by Cornerstone Advisors on the transaction.

Blake Weathers, chair of Member Business Lending, said its clients will benefit from “CUBG’s depth of staff and extensive suite of products and services.”

“Combining the abilities of these two entities is a win-win and will help credit unions to grow and thrive in the commercial services arena,” Weathers said.

Gordon Dames founded Member Business Lending in 2004 when he was president/CEO of Mountain America Federal Credit Union of Salt Lake City ($12 billion in assets, 956,185 members as of Dec. 31).

Dames was CEO of the CUSO from 2014 to 2018, when he was succeeded by Shane Knighton, who left in June 2020 to become SVP of business and financial services at Golden 1 Credit Union of Sacramento, Calif. ($16.3 billion in assets, 1.1 million members).

Shawn Kisana, who was CFO at Member Business Lending, has been serving as interim CEO since last June.

CUBG’s owners are:

• Catalyst Corporate Credit Union of Plano, Texas ($4.2 billion in assets at Dec. 31).
• Alloya Corporate Credit Union of Naperville, Ill. ($7.2 billion in assets at Dec. 31).
• Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union of Greensboro, N.C. ($7.4 billion in assets at Dec. 31).
• Louisiana Corporate Credit Union of Metairie ($210.9 million in assets at Dec. 31).
• Volunteer Corporate Credit Union of Nashville, Tenn. ($2.5 billion in assets at Dec. 31)
• Millennium Corporate Credit Union of Wichita, Kansas ($1.6 billion in assets at Dec. 31).