WASHINGTON – A bill introduced in Congress today would expand the powers of credit union to make member business loans by raising the cap on MBLs, and excluding any loans less than $250,000; all faith-based loans and certain loans made in underserved areas from the cap.
The provisions, sponsored by congressional champion Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, have been proposed in recent congresses unsuccessfully.
The MBL cap, 12.25% of assets, is generally seen as an impediment to credit union business lending.
"During this time of economic uncertainty, many businesses, especially small businesses, are facing extreme difficulties accessing credit in order to create and maintain jobs," said Kanjorski, the Democrat who sponsored HR 1151, the landmark 1998 CU Membership Access Act, as well as the recent bill creating the Corporate CU Stabilization Fund. "H.R. 3380 aims to fix this problem by using credit unions as a resource to boost lending to small businesses. By permitting credit unions to expand their lending to small businesses, we can work to turn around our difficult financial situation at no cost to taxpayers."
