WASHINGTON/PRNewswire — The Responsible Business Lending Coalition, a network of non-profit and for-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 Responsible Business Lending Coalition, of which LendingClub is a founding member, 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 Responsible Business Lending Coalition 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.