ATLANTA – Like many state banking groups, the Georgia BankersAssociation said it will continue to lobby against expandingbusiness lending powers for credit unions. In March 2004, the GBAjoined other states in backing a House of Representatives proposalto re-examine the tax exemption for CUs, the Atlanta BusinessChronicle reported in a Dec. 31 article. The GBA has also said itwill continue to oppose the expansion of CUs' member businesslending authority, as it did in 2004. In October 2004, NCUAapproved a final rule that aims to align its MBL rules with SBA's“less restrictive” collateral requirements. Member business loanspreviously used collateral requirements according to maximumloan-to-value ratios, which were inconsistent with the collateralrequirements of the SBA's guaranteed loan programs. The amendmentsexempt SBA-guaranteed loans from the requirement, allowing creditunions to follow the SBA's “less restrictive” collateral rules. TheGBA admits that even though total assets of Georgia's credit unionsare lower than those of commercial banks in the state, some areconsiderably larger that some community banks, GBA Director ofGovernment Relations Elizabeth Chandler told the publication.Deposits at credit unions here have grown nearly 45% to roughly$10.6 billion from $7.3 billion since 1999, according to theGeorgia Credit Union Affiliates (GCUA). Still, the growth isrelatively small compared to banks: metro Atlanta deposits haveincreased 59% to $80.6 billion, up from $50.5 billion in 1999, thenewspaper reported, citing FDIC data. The GCUA, like many leagues,counter that credit unions, unlike commercial banks, are not in thebusiness of “harvesting profits from one group (customers) anddelivering them to another (third-party shareholders),” the stateleague told the publication. According to the GCUA, the fivelargest credit unions are Delta Employees Credit Union, with nearly$2.6 billion in assets; Atlanta Postal Credit Union, with $1.5billion; Georgia Telco Credit Union, with $987.7 million; RobinsFederal Credit Union, with $853.3 million; and Lockheed GeorgiaEmployees Federal Credit Union, with $768.6 million.