Pewaukee, Wis. - Madison Mayor Paul Soglin was honored by Wisconsin credit unions on behalf of the 95 million consumers nationwide who own credit unions. The recognition was for his hard work in passing a resolution at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of federal legislation that would ensure small businesses can access needed loans through credit unions.
The Credit Union Small Business Jobs Bill (S.B. 2231/H.R. 1418), which the resolution supported, would increase the ability of the financial cooperatives to extend additional credit to small businesses at no cost to taxpayers. In the first year alone, it would make available $14 billion in new credit and 157,000 new jobs nationwide. In Wisconsin it would provide $458 million in new credit and create almost 5,000 jobs.
Soglin became aware of credit unions' desire to fill the void for small business credit through conversations with Summit Credit Union President Kim Sponem and University of Wisconsin Credit Union President Paul Kundert. Sponem presented the Mayor with a plaque and expressed appreciation for the Mayor's efforts to gain the bipartisan support of 187 mayors nationwide to pass the resolution.
"Mayor Soglin understands that credit unions can fill today's huge void for business credit because they have billions available to lend, a 100-year history of making business loans safely, the support of federal regulators and the support of 84% of Wisconsin voters who, like Forbes magazine, see this as an absolute no-brainer," said Brett Thompson, President & CEO of The Wisconsin Credit Union League.
The Conference of Mayors joins a bipartisan list of more than 30 organizations supporting the measure, including groups representing small businesses, the self-employed and the insurance, textile, realty, construction, automotive and technology industries. Only the for-profit banking industry has opposed the bill.
Credit unions are cooperative financial institutions that are owned by their members and do not have stockholders. Because they are not-for-profit, they return earnings to members via more competitive rates of return on accounts, lower interest on loans, lower fees and improved services. Around 2.3 million Wisconsin residents belong to credit unions, of which nearly half are open to the local community. Find a credit union to join by visiting www.asmarterchoice.org. The League’s REAL Solutions Scorecard explains how credit unions returned more than $201 million to their members in 2011 and served their communities regardless of profit. It is available at www.theleague.coop/scorecard.