Matz urges SBA to permit all credit unions to participate in SBA program

<p>ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA Board Member Deborah Matz met recently with Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Hector Barreto to encourage the SBA to return to its policy of allowing all credit unions, regardless of field of membership, to participate in SBA’s loan guarantee program. NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar appointed Matz as liaison to SBA. An agency news release reported that Matz told Barreto that “it seems incongruous to think that credit union members cannot utilize their institution of choice to participate in a government loan program designed to assist small business concerns, when that institution of choice was created by the same government to help their credit needs.” She also pointed out that credit unions are uniquely positioned to aid SBA in working with small businesses that need little capital. To assist in SBA’s decision making, Matz provided Barreto with a table listing 10 other federal assistance programs in which credit unions participate, including those of the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Treasury Department, and others. Barreto was described as noncommittal at the meeting but expressed a desire to work with credit unions.</p>