PRESS RELEASE
Legislative Update: Treasurer Malek's MOBUCK$ Expansion Passes Legislature
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kern Chhikara, 573-751-5390 JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Missouri Senate on Thursday gave final
approval of priority legislation of State Treasurer Vivek Malek, expanding the
popular MOBUCK$ program to provide inflation relief to more small businesses
and farmers. “MOBUCK$ has
skyrocketed in popularity because of soaring high interest rates, and the program’s
ability to reduce interest rates on these linked-deposit loans to eligible borrowers,”
Treasurer Malek
said. “I commend the Legislature for passing
this investment by and in Missouri small businesses, farmers, and job retention
and creation.” Treasurer Malek commended Rep. Terry Thompson,
R-Lexington, for sponsoring House Bill 1803 and Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo,
for shepherding the legislation through the Senate. HB1803 raises the maximum statewide total of all
MOBUCK$ linked-deposit loans to $1.2 billion from the current cap of $800,000.
There has been staggering demand for MOBUCK$ because of its linked-deposit
loans’ breaks on interest rates for borrowers. In January, the state’s online
portal for new MOBUCK$ loan applications was reopened for applications for just
over $119 million in available loan. All of the available funding was spoken
for in just six hours through 142 loan applications and the portal had to be
shut down. Since Treasurer Malek took office in January 2023, the State
Treasurer’s office has processed $651.2 million in linked deposits supporting
low-interest loans. “MOBUCK$ is a
relief valve from inflation for qualified Missouri borrowers, enabling them to
strengthen and expand their businesses and help build both the local and state
economies,”
Treasurer Malek said. “The tremendous
interest and the depletion of available funds in just six hours on a single day
was more proof that MOBUCK$ needs expansion.” MOBUCK$ works like this: The State Treasurer deposits
money with qualified banks, which then pay the state a below-market interest
rate for those deposits. This allows the banks to make MOBUCK$ loans to
qualifying borrowers with a roughly 30 percent reduction in the borrower’s
interest rate. These are called linked-deposit loans, and they have been hugely
popular as a lower-interest alternative for eligible borrowers. Visit www.treasurer.mo.gov to
learn more about MOBUCK$. ###
