Legislation signed in early March extends until March 28 the U.S. Small Business Administration’s ability to provide small business loans, including a higher guarantee of SBA-backed loans and a waiver of loan fees normally paid by borrowers. SBA estimates the additional funding will support about $1.8 billion in small business lending. New approvals of eligible loans with the higher guarantee and reduced fees made possible by the Recovery Act are expected to resume March 10. Loan applications from borrowers in SBA’s Recovery Loan Queue will be funded first, followed by new loan applications.
As part of the Recovery Act, SBA received $730 million, which included $375 million to increase the SBA guarantee on 7(a) loans to 90 percent and to waive borrower fees on most 7(a) and 504 loans. The funds for these programs were exhausted on Nov. 23, and an additional $125 million was provided in December. Those funds were exhausted in late February.