ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA plans to make adjustments to business lending rules to streamline the process for CUs and to remove limits in some areas.
NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz told CUToday.info that the agency is looking to make adjustments that don’t require congressional action that can bolster CU business lending.
“Of course the (MBL) cap is statutory, but there are some tweaks we can make and we plan to do that,” Matz said. “We will be proposing some changes to the member business lending regulation to relieve burdens by removing non-statutory limits.”
Matz said she has heard “loud and clear” from credit unions that requiring a personal guarantee or waiting for a waiver on every business loan can lose business.
“That’s why we plan to eliminate the personal guarantee requirement and the business loan waiver process altogether,” she said. “Determining whether to exempt a borrower from a personal guarantee is a job for credit union loan officers, based on prudent underwriting criteria.”
In response to additional comments from credit union business lenders, Matz revealed that NCUA intends to “lift unnecessary limits on loan-to-value ratios and construction and development loans.”