CUNA CEO Bill Cheney wrote a piece that has appeared in the Aug. 12 Huffington Post attacking banks for holding back the the MBL bill.
"Giving credit unions more business lending strength could be one key part of the response" to the ongoing economic downturn, Cheney wrote.
"Credit unions need the ability to raise their lending capacity to as much as 27.5 percent of assets, as proposed in legislation pending in Congress. Right now, credit unions are capped at 12.25 percent -- and while they have the money to lend, they're bumping up against that lower cap."
He also noted that such lending is in the tradition of why credit unions were founded in the first place.
"Credit unions were authorized under federal law more than 75 years ago in the crucible of the Great Depression<" Cheney wrote. "While our country today searches for solutions to boost the economy -- chiefly, by creating jobs -- now is when Congress ought to ignore the banks and turn again to credit unions, as a tool for helping small business."
