U.S. Treasury Department Issues Latest SSBCI and SBLF Reports
By: Dan Cruz
7/15/2016
America’s small businesses are the back bone of our economy. They create jobs and drive growth that is important to our nation’s overall economic success. Entrepreneurs and small businesses need capital to start and grow their businesses. We know that access to loans and investments was especially difficult in the wake of the recession, and many new and young businesses still struggle to access capital. Over the past five years, the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) have helped entrepreneurs and small businesses bridge the credit gap and access the funds they needed.
SSBCI and SBLF programs provide small business owners with greater access to loans and investments throughout the country, and today Treasury is issuing two new reports that measure the progress of these programs.
SSBCI has been providing funds to state lending and investment programs that work at the local level. States work with private lenders to design programs specific to the small business needs of their communities. With a relatively small investment, SSBCI has been able to leverage greater levels of private sector loans and investments and direct them to our nation’s small businesses. More than $1.3 billion in SSBCI Funds have been deployed nationwide, helping boost local economic development efforts and supporting greater levels of private sector lending. States have now drawn 95 percent of the nearly $1.5 billion of available funds. In all, the program has helped to support $8.5 billion in private loans, supporting more than 16,000 small businesses across the United States.
The SBLF program is also helping small businesses access loans. The program encourages lending by providing capital to Main Street banks and community development loan funds. Since the program’s inception, it has helped to increase small business lending by a remarkable $18.5 billion. More than 90 percent of participating community banks reported stronger small business lending as a direct result of the program.
Please click here to read SSBCI’s Summary of States Quarterly Report
Please click here to read SBLF Participants’ Small Business Lending Growth Report
Dan Cruz is a Media Specialist and Spokesperson for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Posted in: Small Business
