Small Businesses Could Get Help From Banks, Lawmakers

0 Comment(s) | Posted Dec 29, 2009 by Peter Wylie

Peter Wylie

Lawmakers have advanced new legislation to extend additional credit resources to small businesses in 2010, and major banks are reporting plans to increase the amount of small business loans they make in 2010, as well.  Fox Small Business Center said major US banks plan to increase their outlays to small businesses in 2010 after a tight credit market following the recession crimped the amount lent last year.

In the first nine months of 2009, Bank of America reportedly lent $12 billion and modified terms on 49,000 existing loans to small businesses, according to the article.  Wells Fargo said it would lend a total of $13 billion to small business in 2009, and JP Morgan Chase said it had lent $6 billion to small businesses through the third quarter.

All of these banks pledged additional capital and said they planned to hire additional bankers to service the small business market in 2010. 

Also improving the economic outlook for small business are two bills that recently passed committee in the Senate and will soon go to a full vote—the Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009 and the Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act.  These bills would increase loan limits for small businesses and extend guarantees such as the Small Business Association’s 90 percent small business loan guarantee. The report said these bills would be addressed by the full Senate in January.

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