Small Business Credit Availability Act

Small Business Credit Availability Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Commodity Exchange Act (as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act [Dodd-Frank]) to exclude from regulation as a swap dealer an insured depository institution, or a U.S. uninsured branch or agency of a foreign bank that has a prudential regulator.

Permits designation of a person as a swap dealer for a single type, class, or category of swap or activity, and yet considered not to be a swap dealer for other types, classes, or categories of swaps or activities.

Excludes from the definition of "swap dealer" a person that enters into swaps for such person's own account: (1) either individually or in a fiduciary capacity, but not as part of specified business activities; (2) in order to either hedge or mitigate commercial risk; or (3) to comply with state or local governmental regulations.

Excludes also from factors determinative of "swap dealer" a swap entered into for a person's own account and that involves a capacity contract, a renewable energy credit, an emissions allowance, or an emissions offset if such instrument is used to meet obligations under state or local governmental regulations.

(Sec. 3) Excludes outright from the meaning of financial entity any small bank, savings association, farm credit system institution, non-profit cooperative lender controlled by electric cooperatives, or credit union if the aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus aggregate potential outward exposure with respect to its swaps does not exceed $1 billion. (Thus exempts such entities from the clearing requirement.)

(Sec. 4) Redefines "major swap participant" to exclude an entity whose primary business is providing financing that facilitates the sale or lease of products by or on behalf of the parent company or its subsidiary, and uses derivatives only for the purpose of hedging underlying commercial risks in a consolidated financing and leasing portfolio at least 90% of which, as of the end of its preceding fiscal year, is qualifying financing (including loans, notes, installment sales contracts, receivables, and operating and financing leases).

Excludes certain captive finance entities from the swap clearing requirement.

(Sec. 5) Declares amendments made by this Act effective as of the enactment of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 (title VII of Dodd-Frank).

(Sec. 6) Requires the amendments made by this Act to be implemented: (1) through promulgation of an interim final rule, pursuant to which public comment will be sought before a final rule is issued; and (2) without regard to specified federal law on coordination of federal information policy, or certain administrative notice and comment requirements.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov