Local Expertise Meets Federal Backing: A Formula for Business Stability (Sponsored Content)

Credit Availability: A Lifeline in Economic Uncertainty
Credit availability is essential to economic growth. It allows businesses to invest in new projects, expand offerings, and purchase goods and services that enable a dynamic economy—all while stimulating job creation, economic growth, and overall development in your favorite local neighborhood. It can also be a lifeline in periods of economic uncertainty.

SBA Loans Help Stabilize Access to Credit
“Government guaranteed loans offered through programs like the Small Business Administration (SBA) can play a valuable role in making credit available to more businesses,” says Christopher Buschjost, VP of Government Guaranteed Lending at OakStar Bank. “This can be especially important for borrowers who need access to capital in an uncertain economic landscape.”

That’s why SBA’s government guarantees matter: they provide banks with a financial safety net that helps them extend credit, both in favorable and adverse economic circumstances. Terms, repayment, and fees in these loans can then be structured to optimize financial conditions for the borrower, helping create a better environment for growth specific to their business.

“SBA loans aren’t collateral dependent. Funds can be used for many things, like change of ownerships and working capital,” adds Cory Coale, VP of Government Guaranteed Lending at OakStar. “Borrowers may not be able to control inflation or interest rates, but they can more easily adapt to market fluctuations with an SBA loan.”

Community Banks Support Business Resilience
Community banks like OakStar are staffed and led by members of the local community—but unlike national scale banks, they aren’t governed by faraway boards and c-suites that lack granular knowledge and nuanced understanding of the local economy, histories, values, and traditions (or how these elements affect day-to-day business operations). From teller to CEO, community banks apply their extensive knowledge and understanding to fund local businesses, support community initiatives, and supply banking products and services they know their customers need.

For Buschjost, this helps OakStar provide meaningful support to Springfield businesses through fluctuating market conditions.

“OakStar pairs deep knowledge of our community with our expertise in SBA 7a loans,” he says. “As the #1 SBA 7a lender in Kansas and Missouri,* we understand the ins and outs of the loan process, terms, availability, and options, and we leverage that to help remove barriers to growth. Opening a line of credit or securing 100% financing or longer amortization can help businesses maintain liquidity and plan for growth.”

*According to the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders.

This content is paid advertising by OakStar Bank.