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CU small biz lending focus of NAFCU, SBA meeting
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger will meet with Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon today to discuss the association's efforts to increase credit unions' participation in SBA lending programs, as well as the agency's initiatives to expand access to capital.
NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Kaley Schafer will also attend today's meeting.
On its fall regulatory agenda, the SBA included goals to expand access to capital through its lending network, support veterans and military families looking to start or expand their businesses, among others. The agency is also working to implement the NAFCU-supported Small Business 7(a) Lending Oversight Reform Act.
Many credit unions use SBA programs, including the 7(a) loan program, to provide loans to small businesses and entrepreneurs in their communities. NAFCU witness Sonya McDonald, executive vice president and chief lending officer at Randolph-Brooks, testified before the Senate Small Business Committee last year and highlighted the value credit unions provide the nation's small businesses.
The SBA is also currently in the rulemaking process to incorporate express loan program requirements into other business loan program regulations. NAFCU in December submitted recommendations for the agency's proposal.
In addition, NAFCU and the SBA will discuss other industry issues, such as website accessibility concerns under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and efforts to modernize the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Last year, NAFCU attended a roundtable hosted by the SBA and Justice Department focused on ADA issues, and has previously met with SBA staff to discuss ways to ensure credit unions and small businesses can contact consumers with needed information without fear of violating the TCPA.
The association has a Memorandum of Understanding with the SBA and works closely with the agency to improve access to credit union small-dollar loans to small businesses across the nation.