DAYTON, Ohio (4/2/15)--The secret is out in Ohio: Credit unions offer consumers a great deal on financial services, according to a March 27 Dayton Daily News article.

Membership at Ohio credit unions increased 3.6% in 2014, the biggest jump in 20 years, the article reported, citing CUNA statistics. Also, loans at Ohio cooperative financial institutions jumped 10.2%, the most since 2005.

"Credit unions, which are not-for-profit financial cooperatives owned and governed by their members, boasted 101.4 million members nationwide," the article said.

"It's kind of a joke that credit unions are the best-kept secret," Jannell Eichstaedt, vice president of member services at Day Air CU, Kettering, Ohio, told the Dayton Daily News. "I think our secret is finally getting out."

Day Air has increased its membership by an average of 5.5% in the past two years, Eichstaedt said.

That growth is likely shaped by superior member service. The article shared the story of a member business loan Day Air made to Tony Pappert, owner of a landscaping business. The credit union gave Pappert a loan after banks turned him away four years ago.

"Day Air has been a lot more helpful meeting my business needs," Pappert said. "Overall, I've had a better experience here than when I used a bank."

CUNA continues to press lawmakers for member business lending (MBL) relief. H.R. 1188, The Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act, introduced by Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) last month, would increase the MBL cap to 27.5% of assets.

Royce also reintroduced the CUNA-supported Credit Union Residential Loan Parity Act. Under current law, when a bank makes a loan to purchase a 1-to-4 unit, non-owner occupied residential dwelling, the loan is classified as a residential real estate loan. However, when a credit union makes the same loan, it is classified as a business loan and is therefore subject to the 12.25%-of-assets cap on member business lending under the Federal Credit Union Act.