NWCUA, Idaho League Offer 'Pro' Op-ed on MBL Cap Lift

Credit unions could be more helpful to small businesses and help create more jobs if Congress were to pass Senate Bill 2231 and its companion bill, according to a Sunday editorial by the Northwest Credit Union Association and Idaho Credit Union League co-written in The Spokane-Review.   
 
"Senate Bill 2231 and a companion bill in the House of Representatives would raise the credit union business-lending limit from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%," wrote Debie Keesee, vice chair of the Northwest Credit Union Association and CEO of Spokane (Wash.) Media FCU, and  Alan Cameron, CEO of the Idaho Credit Union League.
 
"These common-sense bills allow credit unions to lend more money to businesses that need it," they added. "The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) estimates Washington and Idaho would see nearly $477 million in new business credit, enough to create more than 5,000 jobs."
 
The two provided specific examples of consumers who turned to credit unions to help them with their small businesses through: restructuring loans for lower interest rates, issuing loans for a business expansion, and providing funds for a business to diversify its offerings. 
 
"With Congress' help, credit unions can continue to assure a strong future for local entrepreneurs and the people they employ, and pave the way for even more jobs and more strength in our local economies," concluded Keesee and Cameron.
 
An editorial offering a counter-point that claims every loan that a credit union makes deepens the deficit for taxpayers was written by Dawn Justice, president/CEO of the Idaho Bankers Association.
 
CUNA said that increasing the member business lending (MBL) cap would open up more opportunity to offer MBLs, inject $13 billion in loans into the economy and create as many as 140,000 new jobs, with no cost to taxpayers, CUNA said.