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As credit unions seek ways to support members impacted by the coronavirus, including through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) new paycheck protection program, NAFCU remains steadfast in its commitment to provide the best federal advocacy, compliance assistance, and education to ensure credit unions can do so effectively.

Last week, the SBA released an interim final rule to implement the program. NAFCU developed a set of FAQs following the rule's release for credit unions interested in providing loans through the program. Several credit unions have had difficulties accessing the required systems and submitting paperwork; NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt told Reuters these issues should have been resolved before the application process started.

In addition, to ensure credit unions and other financial institutions have capacity within their balance sheets to offer as many loans as possible through the program, the Federal Reserve announced it is working with the Treasury Department to establish a facility to purchase loans made by financial institutions under the paycheck protection program. More details are expected later this week (UPDATE: The Fed released details of the PPP facility and others Thursday, April 9).

A free NAFCU webinar today will also provide more information on the paycheck protection program.

The association is assisting those with compliance concerns (contact NAFCU via email) and communicating issues with the SBA, Treasury Department, and NCUA to obtain more guidance and relief for credit unions. In addition to the FAQs, the association's regulator response table has been updated to include the paycheck protection program forms and fact sheets.

NAFCU has several other resources available online. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger has been keeping member credit unions informed of resources available and Monday highlighted the top four, including the SBA FAQs, regulator response table, summary chart of the CARES Act provisions, and compliance-related FAQs. NAFCU's Compliance Blog is also publishing new posts daily, Monday-Friday, to keep credit unions updated on recent developments; today's blog covers the paycheck protection program.

Credit unions are encouraged to continue contacting NAFCU with updates on how they are doing, what assistance they need, and potential areas to address as Congress begins work on a Phase 4 relief package.

Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for the latest.