Responsible Business Lending Coalition Endorses Bipartisan Resolution on Fundamental Small Business Financing Rights

For immediate release: May 9, 2019

​CONTACT:

Caitlin McShane

(415) 225-8855 | caitlin@emccommunications.com

​Bipartisan resolution articulates the six fundamental rights that all small business owners seeking financing deserve.

Washington, D.C., May 9, 2019 — The Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC), a network of for-profit and non-profit lenders, brokers and small business advocates, applauds the leadership of Representatives Dean Phillips (D-MN), William Timmons (R-SC) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) in introducing a bipartisan Resolution in support of the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights.

The RBLC developed the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights in 2015 based on a shared commitment to innovation in small business lending aimed at making credit more accessible, as well as serious concerns with the rise of irresponsible lending practices that threaten the survival and vitality of small businesses and the communities that depend on them. The Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights represents a cross-sector consensus on the six fundamental rights that all small business owners seeking financing deserve (including transparent pricing and terms, nonabusive products, responsible underwriting, fair treatment from financing providers, brokers, and lead generators, inclusive credit access, and fair collection practices), along with the specific practices that financing providers, brokers and lead generators must abide by to uphold and protect these rights. Nearly 60 small business lenders and brokers have committed to uphold these rights, and more than 30 advocacy and support organizations have endorsed them.

Small business lending and advocacy organizations with ties to the sponsors’ districts that have joined the RBLC in endorsing the Resolution include Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a national non-profit lender and original Signatory of the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Community Works, a Greenville, South Carolina-based small business lender and Signatory of the Rights, and the New York State CDFI Coalition, an Endorser of the Rights that represents the state’s community development financial institutions.

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RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS LENDING COALITION​

​The Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC) is the leading cross-sector voice on small business financial protection. The coalition is comprised of nonprofit and for-profit lenders, investors, and small business advocates that share a commitment to innovation in small business lending and serious concerns about the rise of irresponsible small business lending. The coalition created the Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights, the first cross-sector consensus on the rights that small business owners deserve and what financing providers, brokers and lead generators can do to uphold those rights. Over 110 small business lenders, brokers and lead generators, and advocacy organizations have endorsed these standards. Members of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition include Accion Opportunity Fund, Community Investment Management, Funding Circle, LendingClub, Opportunity Finance Network, Small Business Majority, and the Aspen Institute. For more information, visit www.borrowersbillofrights.org