Community bankers support small-business jobs bill

Senate Small Business
Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said on Wednesday that her chamber
will pass legislation by the end of the week. She said the bill will include a
$30 billion lending pool for small businesses that provides approximately $12
billion in tax relief for these organizations. 

Landreiu said the lending
provision will be stripped from the original bill and then will be offered as
the bill’s only amendment to illustrate who supports the pool. 

“We want to highlight the
fact of who’s actually stepping up to help small businesses through small
banks,” she said today.

The lending pool in the
small-business bill has come under fire by Republicans who contend it will
create another Troubled Asset Rellief Program scenario by giving the Treasury
authority over which small banks receive the funds to lend to small
businesses. 

While the ICBA supports the
bill passed last month in the House, they are specifically opposing an
amendment offered by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) that would increase the lending
powers of tax-subsidized credit unions. 

Under the bill, community
banks with less than $1 billion in assets could receive capital investments up
to 5 percent of their risk-weighted assets. Those with between $1 billion and
$10 billion in assets could receive up to 3 percent, according to ICBA.  

“The lending fund has important incentives to encourage greater
small business lending by reducing the dividend rate community banks pay on the
capital as they increase their lending,” the ICBA said in a release.