SBA

A proposed rule would end a 40-year moratorium on participation in the Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) program by nondepository lenders. However, staffing constraints would limit the number of new licenses to just three at the start.

Already the nation's largest Small Business Administration lender by dollar volume, the Wilmington-based bank plans to add more than 200 employees and spend $25 million on a new building.

South End Capital, a division of Stearns Bank in Minnesota, is touting a nationwide Small Business Administration small-dollar loan product that can provide funding within days, perhaps hours. It's one of several recent small-dollar SBA lending initiatives now being offered by banks.

BayFirst Financial in Florida is using gross — not net — income to calculate how much credit smaller enterprises can be granted. Company officials say the Paycheck Protection Program used that approach with great success, but others contend the practice is risky for private-sector lenders.

Flush with capital and touting its biggest loan pipeline ever, the nation’s No. 1 Small Business Administration 7(a) lender is laying plans to hire dozens of bankers away from competitors. It’s one of several companies seeking to expand at a time when others are likely to pull back on commercial lending.

Government has an exciting opening to use its unprecedented reach and newfound trust among small-business owners to connect entrepreneurs with sources of capital that can help them grow.

For anyone who wants a phony pay stub or doctored tax return, an easy source is just a click away.

Almost 350,000 loans made to small businesses in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t been forgiven, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of Paycheck Protection Program data, and most of them are for less than $25,000. 

There's still a month left in the federal government's fiscal year, and the Small Business Administration's 504 program is perilously close to hitting its congressionally mandated funding limit for new loans.

The agency's new platform can reach a decision on Paycheck Protection Program loan reimbursement in minutes and has handled hundreds of thousands of applications since its Aug. 4 debut. The original process required a lengthy form.

Borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program loans of up to $150,000 will be able to apply for forgiveness directly through a government portal if their lender opts in. Industry representatives welcomed the move.

Though the Paycheck Protection Program is winding down, the Small Business Administration has prolonged several other pandemic relief programs. Community banks can help local businesses sort through their options.

The Small Business Administration’s sluggish pace in forgiving the biggest Paycheck Protection Program loans is straining relations between banks and some borrowers.

The Paycheck Protection Program has about $8 billion remaining, with those funds earmarked for community development financial institutions, minority depository institutions and other mission-driven lenders.

With the Paycheck Protection Program likely winding down at the end of the month, many lenders are seeing heightened demand for the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) and 504 loans.

The legislation, led by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., would qualify many farmers, ranchers and self-employed Americans for more Paycheck Protection Program funds.

When it was launched a year ago, the program was criticized for glitches and a focus on larger borrowers. Since then technical improvements have been made, smaller loans have been prioritized, and other changes favored by lenders have been implemented.

A federal watchdog agency determined that Almena State Bank's push into government-backed loans, supported with high-cost wholesale funding, set it up for collapse when significant credit issues arose.

First Internet CEO David Becker used to be dismissive of the Small Business Administration. But after getting to know some of the borrowers during the pandemic — and after his bank collected hefty fees from selling 7(a) loans — he's become a convert.

By an overwhelming majority, the House approved a two-month extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, which still has almost $93 billion left to distribute.