SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah credit unions at last will be getting relief in making business loans following passage of a compromise bill hammered out between the Utah League of Credit Unions and the Utah Bankers Association and now ready for the signature of Governor John Huntsman, Jr.
The bill, lifting the $250,000 limit and eliminating a six month wait for new members to apply for loans, passed the Utah House 69-0 March 3.
Underscoring weariness with the bank/CU battle, the major parties including banks, CUs and House/Senate leadership reached an agreement that the measure will be the last legislative action for five years.
"We haven't had the rancor and the problems we've had in the past," House sponsor Kevin Garn (R-Layton) and member of a prominent Utah banking family told the Salt Lake Tribune.
As adopted with several provisions effective May 5, the bill would increase the amount a credit union can offer for a business loan from the current $250,000 on an index keyed yearly to inflation. It would also increase personal loans from the current 1% to 4% of a member's savings plus earned income.
