Opinion: U.S. Senate has chance to help small businesses grow

When bankers speak of increasing capital to small businesses, it correlates to job growth. When credit unions and their consumer owners seek to do the same thing, bankers throw up the same tired, hypocritical arguments aimed at stifling competition, not helping entrepreneurs.

Missouri small-businesspeople expect more. They want banks and credit unions offering more business loans. Credit unions are seeking to remove an arbitrary cap on business lending that safely and incrementally rises to the levels to which they typically lend.

Assemblies of God Credit Union in Springfield is among the credit unions facing cap challenges. AG Credit Union has more than 12 percent in business loans outstanding – against a cap of 12.25 percent – to the religious communities it serves.

A measure before the U.S. Senate, S. 2231, would allow credit unions across Missouri to start lending again by raising the cap to 27.5 percent. Credit unions want to do their part to help grow our economy.

The U.S. Senate is preparing to vote on this important job-creating bill. It’s time to reject banker rhetoric against member-owned, not-for-profit credit unions making loans to working Americans, particularly at a time when tax-exempt Subchapter S banks in Missouri have three times as many assets as credit unions, don’t pay corporate income tax and have no restrictions on lending.

The Missouri Credit Union Association urges Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt to help small businesses add jobs at no cost to taxpayers by co-sponsoring and voting “yes” on this important assistance to working families in Missouri.

It’s time to do all we can to increase capital for small business safely and soundly.

—Mike Beall, Missouri Credit Union Association president/CEO