Surrounding the chocolates, roses and love-filled greeting cards that made the rounds in Washington on Valentine's Day, was an announcement from Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) re-introducing a bill that would increase the member business lending cap from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.

And the fight to expand lending authority heads back to the battlefield as bank trade groups stock their quivers with more arrows in hopes of emerging victorious in a battle that has waged on for at least a decade.   

But how much of a fight is it? Especially in light of the fact that most credit unions are nowhere near their MBL caps and an edict from the NCUA last August that allows more than 1,000 credit unions to become a low-income designated credit union, which would exempt them from the cap.