The six biggest banks in the U.S. have over $10 trillion in assets.The largest credit union in Maine has under $500 million in assets. Big banks operate to serve their shareholders while credit unions are not-for-profit and exist to serve our members. Any excess profit from a credit union is returned to our members in the form of lower interest rates and higher returns on savings.

There are countless differences between Evergreen Credit Union, where I serve as president and CEO, and the banks that caused the financial crisis, but Washington treats us equally.

These one-size-fits-all regulations hurt my credit union’s ability to serve our members. A bill currently making its way through the Senate, S. 2155, is a carefully crafted, bipartisan proposal that is co-sponsored by Sen. Angus King and would help credit unions across Maine more fully serve our members’ needs, from mortgages to small-business loans.

Arbitrary caps imposed on credit unions limit our ability to make small business loans in our community. In Evergreen Credit Union’s case, we are so close to the small-business loan cap that we fear that we will have to eventually turn away those looking for small-business loans.

Much-needed legislation such as S. 2155 would free up some of our cap space so that we can continue lending money to small businesses and move our community and the state in the right direction.

I urge our elected officials to support S. 2155 for Main Street members and their credit unions.

Jason Lindstrom

Portland

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