Coalition for Responsible Business Finance Submitted RFI on Behalf of Both Funders and Small Businesses

If you haven’t heard of the Coalition for Responsible Business Finance (not to be confused with the Responsible Business Lending Coalition), I recommend paying attention to it.

“The CRBF is a group of businesses and service providers that advocate for the value of alternative financing opportunities for small businesses,” they said in their response to the Treasury RFI. “We created the coalition to help educate Congress, Treasury, and other federal departments and agencies on how technology and innovation are providing small businesses access to capital that is necessary for growth.” Simply put, this coalition allows lenders, funders, and small businesses to have a unified voice to educate policymakers.

And yes, merchant cash advance companies are welcome, though representation is very diverse.

“Small business owners value choice and speed when looking at alternative finance and lending options,” the CRBF says in their response. “Any federal approach needs to balance new regulatory requirements with the impact on the alternative finance and lending sector and on the sector’s small business customers.”

The overall message in the submission is that regulators need not feel shy about opening a dialogue with those most likely to be affected by any change in policy.

For those reasons, CRBF recommends that Treasury create an alternative finance and lending interagency working group that will meet on a quarterly basis. We suggest that twice a year the working group meet as a group comprised solely of governmental personnel, with officials from SEC, SBA, FTC, Federal Reserve, OCC, and other relevant agencies. And, we suggest that twice a year the working group meet with business leaders from across the alternative finance and business lending spectrum including representatives from lead generators, aggregators, merchant cash advance professionals, peer-to-peer lenders, risk analytics services, direct lenders, marketplace lenders, and others. Meeting with different groups of businesses throughout the life span of an interagency working group will allow Treasury to keep up with a rapidly evolving business sector and will help ensure that any federal approach is sensitive to its impact on the sector and on its small business customers.

CRBF is committed to educate federal authorities on how alternative lending and finance benefits small business and the economy. We would certainly help Treasury establish any working group that serves the same purpose.

As I am currently an advisory board member of this coalition, I encourage you to consider the organization’s mission and purpose by visiting the website at http://www.responsiblefinance.com. If you’d like to learn more or consider support for it, email me at sean@debanked.com.

You can download the full response here.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.