LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–A credit union has been prohibited from participating in a lending consortium here by banks that are involved in the project.
The banks cited their objections to credit unions’ tax exemption, according to the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Business.
According to the two publications, Arkansas FCU was banned from participating in the $17 million in loans being assembled to develop the Little Rock Technology Park by the bankers, who also claimed CUs are in violation of the concept of common bond.
In a blog posting, Bill Holmes, president of the Arkansas Bankers Association, wrote, “Arkansas banks paid $258+ million in taxes in 2014. AFCU and 80 other Arkansas credit unions paid $0.00 in taxes. An individual taxpayer pays more in taxes than all credit unions combined.”
According to Arkansas Business, the bankers also said that the “Tech Park couldn't be a member of the credit union because credit unions are supposed to serve groups of people with common bonds. They have, however, become large deposit and lending institutions with diverse customers.”