NCUA News Release

Matz says Credit Union Members Benefit from SBA Decision

SBA Opens 7(a) Loan Program to Credit Unions

February 14, 2003, Alexandria, Va. – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Member Deborah Matz, acknowledging the highly significant and important announcement made by the Small Business Administration today to open the 7(a) loan program to all credit unions meeting SBA standards, said:

“I commend SBA Administrator Hector Barreto and General Counsel David Javdan for addressing and correcting an unnecessary regulatory interpretation. SBA’s earlier ruling denied most credit unions the opportunity to offer guaranteed small business loans to their members. That policy restricted credit to an area of the marketplace that needs it most.”

Matz, the NCUA Board liaison to the Small Business Administration, met last year with Administrator Barreto to urge him to change the policy. “I am delighted with the SBA’s diligence in pursuing and finalizing this new legal interpretation,” said Matz.

“This demonstrates the benefits of partnering which I always advocate for credit unions. NCUA, credit unions and credit union trade associations, working with SBA, have achieved a tremendous result. Small business people who do not have access to other financial institutions will be the beneficiaries,” Matz said.

A 23-year public service veteran, Matz is a member of three credit unions and resides in McLean, Va. with her husband and two children. Before her appointment to the NCUA Board, Matz was appointed by President Clinton as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration in the Department of Agriculture.

The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 80 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.