NCUA approves CUNA-requested changes to capital, business lending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2020
Washington, DC

CONTACT:
Lauren Williams
CUNA Communications
202-672-3396      

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) approved yesterday an interim final rule that would amend its capital adequacy and member business loans and commercial lending regulations following the creation of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

This decision comes just days after the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) urged the NCUA to provide guidance to credit unions on how PPP loans work in conjunction with agency’s member business lending requirements.

“CUNA, Leagues and credit unions thank NCUA for moving quickly to resolve the concerns we brought them last week,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “The more clarity America’s credit unions have on these loans, the quicker they can deploy needed capital to their communities.”

The CARES Act, which created the PPP, requires PPP loans receive a 0% risk weighting under NCUA’s risk-based capital requirements. To reflect this statutory requirement, the interim final rule amends the NCUA’s capital adequacy regulation so that covered PPP loans receive a 0% risk weight in the agency’s risk-based net worth requirements.

Also, under the interim final rule, if a loan is pledged as collateral for a non-recourse loan provided through the Federal Reserve System’s PPP Lending Facility, the covered loan can be excluded from a credit union’s calculation of total assets for the purposes of calculating its net worth ratio.

This ensures that credit unions can neutralize the regulatory capital effects of PPP loans pledged to the facility.

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About CUNA:           
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 115 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.