CUNA meets with new SBA general counsel

WASHINGTON-CUNA senior staff met today with the Small Business Administration’s new General Counsel David Javdan to discuss one of his first issues, which is of high importance to credit unions regarding greater access to the agency’s 7(a) lending program. Attending the meeting from CUNA were General Counsel Eric Richard and Associate General Counsel Mary Dunn. Dunn said that Javdan made it clear that his approach to life and regulation is to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. He indicated he wanted to ensure any broadening of power for credit unions would be “fully sustainable” under the law, but promised to move rapidly. However, Richard said that the meeting leaned toward a positive resolution of the issue for credit unions. “He demonstrated a keen understanding of what credit unions are about,” Richard explained. There have been concerns raised that because credit unions do not serve the general public, as they are limited by statute to particular fields of membership (FOMs), there could be an appearance of discrimination in service, particularly considering FOMs drawn along ethnic or religions lines. CUNA plans to provide SBA with analysis on the issue as soon as it can be made ready.