Improving credit union access to SBA programs will benefit small businesses

The Small Business Administration should prioritize reducing barriers to credit union participation in the agency’s lending programs to benefit small businesses and the credit unions that serve them. In a letter sent to the House Small Business Committee, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle shared several examples showing how the SBA can accomplish these changes. It was delivered in advance of SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler’s testimony Wednesday before the committee.

“Streamlining SBA loan processes would be a game-changer for credit unions and the small businesses they serve,” Nussle wrote, adding that SBA efforts during the pandemic to provide additional flexibility “not only allowed credit unions to reach more borrowers but also demonstrated the potential for reducing procedural burdens without compromising program integrity,” and should be made permanent.

Specifically, the letter urges the SBA to:

• Provide more targeted training and technical assistance, including regular webinars, workshops, and on-demand training resources;
• Adopt stringent safeguards for fintech participation in its programs, including enhanced initial vetting, continuous monitoring, and requirements for compliance with the same regulatory standards applied to depository institutions;
• Strengthen its partnerships with community-based lenders like credit unions instead of becoming a direct lender itself; and
• Recommend to Congress and the administration that the SBA has full funding to support its lending programs, including disaster loans.

America’s Credit Unions also wrote to House and Senate appropriators earlier this week calling for full SBA funding in the FY26 budget. Mike Sims, chief commercial banking officer at Georgia’s Own Credit Union, testified on behalf of America’s Credit Unions earlier this year on challenges facing credit unions that seek to serve more small businesses through SBA programs.