Effective Oct. 1, small businesses seeking loans of $150,000 or less can do so without paying loan fees, according to Jeanne Hulit, acting administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).“This is good news for a number of reasons,” Hulit said when she made the announcement. She says new startups and entrepreneurs in underserved communities tend to be served by lower-dollar loans, including women, minorities, veterans and others. “In fact, according to the Urban Institute, SBA loans are 3 to 5 times more likely to go to women and minority-owned businesses than conventional loans,” she says.
Hulit cited a number of SBA programs that have expanded recently:
- Microlending. SBA supported more than $49 million in lending to more than 4,600 small businesses in fiscal year (FY) 2013, which ended Oct. 1, 2013. Since President Obama took office, SBA has supported more than $126 billion in lending to more than 260,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs, including $30 billion in loans in FY 2011, in FY 2012, and $29 billion in 2013.
- Smaller dollar loan programs. Hulit says these have been “streamlined and simplified.” SBA reduced paperwork for its Small Loan Advantage (SLA) program, designed to expand access to its 7(a) product for loans under $350,000.” She claims a more than 300 percent increase in SLA loans and 700 percent increase in the number of lenders using the program.
© 2013 Florida Realtors®
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