Representatives from five Missouri credit unions recently met with their congressmen to discuss the proposed Small Business Lending Enhancement Act, which includes a provision that would raise the MBL cap from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.

Missouri Credit Union Association officials also attended the meetings with Rep. Billy Long (R-District 7) and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-District 4).

Long met with reps from the $109 million Assemblies of God Credit Union, the $68 million CU Community Credit Union and the $136 million BluCurrent Credit Union at his district office Aug. 31.

All three are approaching their respective 12.25% MBL caps and will soon be unable to lend to small businesses, according to the league.  

At a Sept. 1 meeting, freshman Rep. Hartzler learned about the credit union difference from eight credit unions, including their structure, the debit interchange issue and how credit unions are monitoring the impact of this legislation, and the need for supplemental capital, the league reported.

Meanwhile the Michigan Credit Union League is highlighting the growth of business loans at the state's credit unions. Small business loans were up $171.5 million or 18.8% to $1.09 billion, the league said. Overall, Michigan's credit unions have added $337 million bringing total loans outstanding to $4.39 billion.