MBS News

NEW DEVELOPMENTS HELP MEMBER BUSINESS LENDING
(March 31, 2003) -- Two important developments converged in early 2003 to make member business lending easier for credit unions: the Small Business Administration (SBA) offered a new legal interpretation that opens its guaranteed loans to all credit unions and the NCUA proposed new regulations to ease some limitations on credit unions offering these loans. So says Mary Dunn, CUNA's senior vice president and associate general counsel for regulatory affairs, during a CUNA audio conference. Read more at CUNA News Now.

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NEW CUNA GUIDE DOCUMENTS FED AGENCIES SERVING SMALL BUSINESSES
CUNA has posted a free guide to help credit unions understand all the regulations governing member business loans and the support programs available to credit unions and small businesses from federal agencies. It's called the Guide to Federal Agencies Serving Member Businesses.
CUNA Business/SEG Services Center

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CUNA OFFERS OHIO MBS GUIDE ON ITS WEB SITE
The Credit Union Business Checking Account Guide developed by the Ohio Credit Union System’s Member Business Services Task Force and published by the League is now available to credit unions nationwide on CUNA’s Web site. CUNA’s Business/SEG Services Committee worked with the Ohio task force and contributed information to the guide. “This guide is a result of the Ohio group’s work and we appreciate their generosity in sharing it with credit unions across the country,” said Kevin Lytle, VP of strategic business development for CUNA.

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CUNA OFFERS OHIO MBS GUIDE ON ITS WEB SITE
The Credit Union Business Checking Account Guide developed by the Ohio Credit Union League’s Member Business Services Task Force and published by the League is now available to credit unions nationwide on CUNA’s Web site. CUNA’s Business/SEG Services Committee worked with the Ohio task force and contributed information to the guide. “This guide is a result of the Ohio group’s work and we appreciate their generosity in sharing it with credit unions across the country,” said Kevin Lytle, VP of strategic business development for CUNA. The guide is also available on the League’s Web site. A hard copy is available from the League.

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Ohio Credit Union League Publishes Business Services Checking Guide for Credit Unions
(Sept. 6, 2002) – A Credit Union Business Checking Account Guide published by the Ohio Credit Union League and its business affiliate will give credit unions the tools they need to serve small businesses – a demographic historically overlooked by credit unions.  The Guide is believed to be the first of its kind produced in the credit union industry.

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FLEETBOSTON GOES AFTER
SMALL BUSINESS IN STAPLES STORES
(July 12, 2002) -- FleetBoston Financial Corp. is opening 10 offices in Staples office supply stores in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to reach small business owners, according to a press release. The offices will employ two sales representatives to push its “Free Staples Business Checking Account,” Fleet debit cards with rewards toward purchases at Staples, and small business loan applications. The offices will not dispense cash or take deposits.

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CUNA POLL: Many CUs sending "business" to banks
(Feb. 25, 2002) -- Member business loans (MBLs) can provide a growth opportunity for credit unions. Yet, many credit unions are seeing members take their "business" elsewhere. That's the conclusion drawn from the results of CUNA's online Quick Question.Nearly 38% of the credit unions surveyed said they referred members elsewhere during the past year because they didn't offer MBLs. Read the full story.

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Banks don't see credit unions as threat in business lending
(Feb. 20, 2002) -- Credit unions aren't on community banks' radar screen as competitors for business loans, according to an American Bankers Association community bank competitiveness survey. Of community banks with assets of less than $1 billion surveyed, only 4% indicated credit unions were their main rivals, according to ABA's survey. Over 47% cite other banks as their main competitors for business loans and 5.1% identifying nonbank firms such as broker-dealers, conglomerates or finance companies. Although the smallest banks ranked credit unions third in competition for business deposits, credit unions did not break the 10% barrier in loans, deposits, and investment management services, according to the survey. Thirty-seven percent of small banks claimed their chief competitors for small-business loans were large banks; 6.7% said they were government direct lenders, such as the Farm Credit System. Read the full story from the Feb. 20, 2002, CUNA News Now

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SBA seeks CUNA's data on business loan demand
(Feb. 19, 2002) --The Small Business Administration (SBA) has asked CUNA to provide data that will help the agency get a better picture of the demand for SBA loans at credit unions. In a meeting with CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica, SBA Administrator Hector Barreto welcomed CUNA's efforts to encourage the agency to consider whether its lender eligibility criteria can be expanded to allow more credit unions to participate in SBA programs. Under SBA's current criteria, only credit unions with community charters are eligible for many SBA programs. This means only about 1,100 of America's 10,200 credit unions are eligible Read the full story from the Feb. 19, 2002, CUNA News Now

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Current CU Executive Center dedicated to Member Business Services
(Feb. 14, 2002) -- CUNA's new CU Executive Center online subscription-based resource is dedicated to articles on member business services. Read it here.

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NCUA grants Wisconsin its own MBL regulation
(Feb. 7, 2002) -- Wisconsin has become the fifth state to gain NCUA approval of its own unique member business lending regulation. The Wisconsin state regulator worked on the regulation for over six months. The NCUA approved the rule at its Feb. 7 board meeting. Wisconsin joins Texas, Missouri, Washington, and Maryland as states with their own MBL regulation. Wisconsin’s MBL rule differs from requirements imposed on federal credit unions in several ways, including an increase in the loan-to-value (LTV) level for real estate development lending (from 65 to 70%) and construction lending (from 65 to 75%). The rule also drops the requirement that members give personal guarantees for all such loans. Among other changes, the state is requiring credit union staff approving construction member business loans to have at least five years of experience, while the NCUA requires just two years of experience.

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