Newsroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAFCU Applauds Reps. Royce, Meeks Reintroduction of the ‘Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act of 2015'

Washington (March 2, 2015) - National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU)Presidentand CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to NAFCU-backed legislation reintroduced by Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., andGreg Meeks, D-N.Y., both on the House FinancialServices Committee, today to raise the credit union member business loan cap from 12.25 percent to 27.5 percent of assets for eligible institutions.

"We thank Reps. Royce and Meeks for their continued commitment to credit unions and their confidence in credit unions' ability to help small business," said Berger. "This bill would help credit unions do more to meet the credit needs of their member small businesses and, in turn, help grow jobs. We look forward to working toward its enactment."

Winning greater MBL authority for credit unions is a key piece of NAFCU's five-point plan for credit union regulatory relief. Berger welcomed the bill and pledged NAFCU's support in seeking its passage.

Today's bill, the "Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act of 2015" is similar to H.R. 688 introduced last Congress by Royce and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y. It would allow the NCUA Board to approve an application by an insured credit union for a 27.5 percent MBL cap under certain conditions. Among those:

• the credit union has met at least 80 percent of its current cap for the past four consecutive quarters;
• it is classified as "well capitalized";
• it can demonstrate at least five years of experience of sound underwriting and servicing of MBLs.

This bill, like previous versions, would cap growth in MBL portfolios to no more than 30 percent a year for credit unions authorized for the higher cap.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national trade association that exclusively represents the interests of federally chartered credit unions before the federal government and the public.

Contact: Patty Briotta | 703-842-2820 | pbriotta@nafcu.org