WASHINGTON – Frustrated with congressional inaction, NAFCU asked the White House to intervene with lawmakers to get the long-sought increase on member business loans added to the pending jobs bill.
In a letter to President Obama, NAFCU President Fred Becker said an increase in the credit union loan cap would make new capital available for small business and help stimulate the economy. “Raising the arbitrary credit union member business lending cap would help take an important step in the recovery of the small business community and the overall economy,” Becker told the president.
The Obama administration, by way of an endorsement by the Treasury Department, has already agreed to the MBL boost, as has NCUA, the industry’s regulator, noted Becker.
The credit union lobby has been working for an increase in the MBL cap since the current ceiling of 12.25% of assets was set in 1998 as part of HR 1151, the CU Membership Access Act. It has failed to get an increase through Congress in at least four previous bills. The latest effort – which would raise the limit to 27.5% of assets – is stalled in the Senate, where one senator has unsuccessfully proposed adding it to the pending jobs bill. A final vote on that bill has been postponed until Congress returns for its fall session.
