SBA

On her way out the door, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman issues licenses to four more nondepository lenders.

With default levels drifting higher, some program participants are calling on the incoming Trump team to rethink the Small Business Administration's approach to underwriting.

Kelly Loeffer would lead an agency that is critically important to community banks, which make tens of billions of dollars in loans annually under its largest loan program.

The Boca Raton, Florida company is seeking to attract deposits with a product that more closely resembles the strategy many fintechs typically employ.

The Columbus, Ohio-based regional launched Lift Local Business in October 2020 with a $25 million ceiling. Four years and $133 million later, the program is still going strong.

The average size of a Small Business Administration 7(a) loan has fallen to just over $400,000, a level last reached in 2017, according to agency statistics.

The Wilmington, North Carolina, company reported a breakout quarter for loan production, but profits fell as an increase in nonperforming loans led to higher provisioning.

While companies trust banks and typically maintain their core relationship with small businesses, the industry's dominant position is hardly set in stone, according to a survey by American Banker.

Despite strong growth and solid profits, the Miami-based lender, formerly a business development company, still hasn't convinced the market it fits in as a bank.

New Canaan-based Bankwell's digital solution relies on software designed by Lendio to compress the application-to-funding interval and appeal to speed-conscious small-business owners.

Though it has yet to result in any new voters being added to the rolls, SBA is seeking to expand an initiative that has drawn the ire of congressional Republicans, who fear the effort is aimed at boosting Democratic votes.

The Minneapolis-based banking giant is enjoying its biggest year ever for 7(a) lending, with volume up 40%, as borrowers "are still coming to us," its SBA chief said.

The agency admitted navigating the different rules and regulations involved in its four existing lines of credit proved time consuming and confusing and kept some lenders from offering them altogether.

Funding Circle US fought to win a coveted license to make SBA 7(a) loans only to see its London-based parent company agree to a sale before it could make its first government-guaranteed loan

While the $800 billion in PPP loans has largely self-liquidated through the forgiveness process, SBA continues to service the longer-duration EIDL portfolio and will likely be doing so for years to come after opting to hold on to the loans.

Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, wants the agency to get involved in direct lending, a practice that was discontinued during the Clinton administration. Congress has not embraced the idea, to put it mildly.

Republicans on the House and Senate Small Business committees are accusing the SBA of being irresponsible in granting Funding Circle permission to participate in its flagship loan-guarantee program.

The decision to approve the fintech's application to make 7(a) loans came nearly a month after Funding Circle's U.K.-based CEO hinted it is considering a sale of its U.S. operations, alarming some members of Congress.

Last year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based Integrated called off a deal to sell itself to MVB Financial after bank stocks took a hit in the aftermath of the regional bank failures. Capital hopes to expand its government-guaranteed lending with the transaction.

Investing in Main Street Act has passed the House three times with overwhelming majorities but has failed to gain traction in the Senate. Backers, including banks that invest in the funds, hope to flip the script with a third version.