Changes to regulations and the creation of new lending programs have and will continue to help individuals affected by the pandemic, CUNA wrote Thursday to the Senate Banking Committee. The committee conducted the hearing on the quarterly report of the CARES Act pandemic relief legislation which, among other things, created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Credit unions facilitated more than 170,000 PPP loans that averaged $49,000 each.

“While PPP lending has concluded, there are a number of steps that SBA should take if additional funds become available. SBA should improve their national and regional operation in order to provide more timely feedback to lenders and borrowers, including lender prioritization guidance, official guidance formalizing the use of PPP forms and guidance on the loan purchasing process,” the letter reads. “Furthermore, the SBA should issue guidance and forms to reflect that privately insured state-chartered credit unions are eligible to lend through the program.”

CUNA also expressed support for the House and Senate bills that would provide simple forgiveness for PPP loans under $150,000 and called on Congress to enact “commonsense” liability protections for PPP lenders.

Other priorities for credit unions, CUNA noted include:

• Including legislation that would lift the credit union member business lending cap for loans made during the pandemic in the next phase of COVID-19 legislation;
• Expand the borrowing authority for NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility to 25 times the paid in capital, extend its expanded borrowing capacity until Dec. 31, 2020 and make permanent the ability of corporate credit unions to act as agents for credit unions; and
• Extend the CARES Act’s temporary Troubled Debt Restructuring relief until the end of 2021.