Navy Federal Credit Union specializes in helping military service members, veterans, Department of Defense personnel and their family members access quality banking services.
You’ll need to be a credit union member on its personal banking side before you can apply for business membership, and you’ll need to be a business member before you can apply for a small business loan. Navy Federal is remarkably tight-lipped about its small business loans, but given its high customer satisfaction rankings for its personal banking offerings, it could be worth it if you already have an account there.
You can apply for a standard business term loan that you can use for a wide range of purposes, including equipment financing , company expansion or building improvements. You’ll be required to back your term loan with collateral (if you’re investing in property or equipment, you can use your new acquisition).
Navy Federal allows you to borrow up to 75% of the cost of financing a new equipment purchase — which means you’ll need to come up with a down payment of at least 25%. Unfortunately, Navy Federal doesn’t provide any public-facing information on the cost or term of the loans until you actually apply for a loan. You may also be able to get an SBA loan through Navy Federal.
Navy Federal offers two types of lines of credit: a Business Line of Credit (BLOC) that you can draw against as needed or a Checking Line of Credit (CLOC) that serves to cover overdrafts from your Navy Federal business checking account. You’ll need to offer some sort of collateral for all BLOCs (technically making it a secured business line of credit ), while the CLOC is collateral-free.
In addition to interest, you’ll pay an annual $325 fee for a BLOC ($50 for a CLOC), whether you use it or not. Navy Federal also has a “clean-up period” for some BLOCs, requiring you to keep a $0 line of credit balance for at least 30 successive calendar days a year, meaning you can’t draw on that line of credit during that period. Make sure you have a back-up plan in place so this doesn’t affect your cash flow.
If you’re looking to buy, refinance or renovate your business location or an investment property, Navy Federal may be able to help with a commercial real estate loan . There are no prepayment penalties, although there are plenty of other real estate fees.
Unfortunately, you won’t find out how much these fees might be or even basic details like the range of rates the credit union is charging unless you apply for a loan. You may be able to choose between fixed or variable rates, however.
| Minimum annual revenue | $100,000 for term loans and lines of credit. Information not disclosed for other financing types |
| Minimum time in business | 24 months for most loans, depending on amount financed |
| Minimum credit score | Not disclosed |
Navy Federal Credit Union has extremely strict business loan application requirements . You’ll need to be a business member before you can apply for any financing options at all. To become a member, you’ll need to fill out a lengthy application, spend up to an hour on the phone with a banker and put down a deposit of $250 to $255, depending on your business type. If you have business partners or co-owners, they’ll each need to be independently eligible, and apply for membership as well.
Navy Federal Credit Union doesn’t offer preapproval on any of its financing options. There are also requirements for time in business before you can even apply for its business line of credit, term loans and commercial vehicle loans. You’ll need to have been a Navy Federal business member for at least one year or have been in business for at least 24 months before applying.
If you need a business loan fairly quickly, Navy Federal won’t be a viable option unless you’re already an established member and you don’t mind a hard credit inquiry showing up on your personal credit report in order to check your loan options with this lender.
If you haven’t yet applied for a Navy Federal business loan you might be left in the dark about what it can offer you, but one thing it’s very upfront about is the documentation you’ll need to apply. (Remember, that’s assuming you actually are eligible to apply for a loan in the first place.) The required documents vary depending on what type of loan you’re applying for, but generally include:
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LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
How Does LendingTree Get Paid?U.S. Bank offers more financing options than Navy Federal Credit Union, although it’s also frustratingly quiet about many of the specifics you need to know in order to decide whether it’s worth applying for financing.
In contrast, U.S. Bank does offer preapproval for some of its financing options, so it’s easier to get that information compared to the runaround you’ll need to do for Navy Federal. U.S. Bank does offer some military benefits, but only on the personal banking side.
Compared to Navy Federal, Bank of America also offers many more small business financing options and is much more openly available. Any small business owner is eligible to apply as long as they’re a U.S. citizen or legal resident at least 18 years or older. You don’t even need an existing account before applying for financing. Bank of America also offers several small business financing fee discounts for military veterans. And if you are a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, you can get a discount of 0.25% to 0.75% on your interest rate, depending on your level of status.