SBA Loan Incentives Reauthorized for Another Month
On February 23 in our post “SBA Starts Waiting List for Small Businesses Seeking Loan Breaks,” we wrote about the Small Business Administration’s announcement that it had run out of money to fund its stimulus package small business loan incentives – 7(a) and loan fee reductions. After the advancement of a $15 billion jobs bill the following week in the Senate with no appropriation for the loan incentives, the future of these programs seemed to be doomed.
However on Monday, the Senate passed the temporary jobs bill, which includes a brief extension of the provisions for the Small Business Administration’s loan incentives. It reauthorizes the 90% guarantee on SBA loans through March 28, with an appropriation of $60 million to fund the incentives. On Tuesday, the legislation was signed into law by President Obama.
While the reauthorization may be a welcome reprieve for many small business owners who had been put on the SBA’s waiting list and may now have the opportunity to gain access to much needed capital, the fate of the SBA incentive programs past the end of the month is unclear.
