Senate to Vote Today on Swipe-Fee Reform Delay
June 8, 2011The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on an amendment that would delay the implementation of the swipe-free reform mandated by the NSBA-supported amendment to the Restoring American Financial Stability Act (S. 3217), introduced by Sen. Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The Durbin amendment required the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed)...
READ MOREStudy Warns of Risks from Small-Biz Credit Cards
May 24, 2011A new report, “U.S. Households at Risk from Business Credit Cards,” by the Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) echoes the warnings about small-business credit cards that NSBA has sounded since before Congress enacted the Credit CARD Act of 2009. Although strongly supportive of the overall legislation, NSBA urged Congress at the time to...
READ MORENew Small-Biz Credit Card Survey
May 10, 2011While the U.S. Congress was crafting and considering the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, NSBA argued that its protections against the most egregiously “unfair” and “deceptive” practices of the credit-card industry also should be extended to small-business credit cards. NSBA maintained that—for the most part—the cards used by...
READ MOREFed: Credit Improving for Small Business
May 10, 2011Yesterday, Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke claimed that recent anecdotal evidence suggested that conditions were improving for small businesses, saying: “Although no definitive data source exists, the combination of a variety of recent survey results paints a picture of increasing optimism about future sales and business conditions and a corresponding...
READ MOREBill Increasing Credit Union Lending Introduced
March 29, 2011Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) recently introduced legislation that would increase the cap on credit union business lending from 12.25 percent of a credit union’s assets to 25 percent of total assets. The Credit Union National Association estimates that these reforms will increase small-business lending by $10 billion within the first...
READ MOREBills Introduced to Delay Swipe Fee Reform
March 23, 2011The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) in Dec. 2010 proposed new rules limiting the size of the fees banks can charge businesses every time a debit card is used to pay for a good or service. The Fed was required to address debit-card swipe fees thanks to an NSBA-supported amendment, introduced...
READ MORENSBA Speaks out in Favor of Swipe Fee Reform
March 10, 2011Today, NSBA President Todd McCracken joined Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) at the Capitol in support of swipe fee reform. McCracken and Durbin were joined by nearly 100 small-business owners as they urged Congress and the Federal Reserve (the Fed) to protect commonsense swipe fee reform enacted last year. In 2010, Congress...
READ MOREFDIC Hotline for Small-Biz Lending Complaints
January 18, 2011The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last week hosted a forum focused on “Overcoming Obstacles to Small Business Lending,” with both NSBA staff and members in attendance. The forum was highlighted by a panel discussion, moderated by CNBC, featuring: Sheila Bair, chair of the FDIC; Ben Bernanke, chair of the...
READ MOREAccess to Capital a Top Small-Biz Concern
January 11, 2011While encouraging economic symbols continue to emerge, evidence shows access to capital remains a concern for America’s small-business owners. The recently released Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Study found that only 40 percent of private business owners in the U.S. reported having the resources (capital, staff, etc) necessary for growth; and...
READ MORESBA Lending Up, SBLF Materials Available
January 4, 2011Access to capital continues to be a significant challenge for many small businesses. Unfortunately the issue continues to take two steps forward and one step back as progress is continually accompanied by funding challenges. While the Treasury Department just this week finally released details for the Small Business Lending Fund,...
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