New Small Business Loans Could Fuel Growth in 2010

0 Comment(s) | Posted Dec 23, 2009 by Peter Wylie

Peter Wylie

An appropriations bill signed over the weekend will give some small business owners a needed holiday present.  The U.S. Small Business Administration received an additional $125 million to extend special small business loan provisions that had expired in November.

New small business loan approvals at favorable rates could be dispensed as early as Monday, Dec. 28, according to the Dallas Morning News.  The funding specifically will be used to increase the guarantees on small business loans and to waive certain fees, making it more attractive for small business owners to raise additional capital and increase investment.

Small business owners certainly could use the help. Small business bankruptcies in California have increased 81 percent in 2009, for instance, and the situation is not much better in multiple other states hit hardest by the recession.  In North Carolina, recently ranked as the 12th worst state to start a small business in the nation, Gov. Bev Purdue is pushing for unused TARP funds to be used to fuel small business hiring and loan approvals.  North Carolina has shown slight economic growth in the past three months, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Interested small business owners should consult the SBA’s website for information about the new small business stimulus provisions to see if they might qualify for needed assistance.

If they are successful in raising additional capital, small businesses could begin to extend more employment opportunities.  Fears about rising costs remain, however, as owners await the outcome of ongoing health care negotiations that could affect their employee benefits packages.

If your small business secured a new SBA loan, which business need would you use the additional funding for in the New Year?

Filed under: