SBA launches Patriot Express loan initiative

According to an SBA news release, Patriot Express is available to entrepreneurs in the military community, including veterans, reservists, National Guard members or service members who are leaving active duty. The program also is open to spouses of any of those individuals, or to widows and widowers of any service member or veteran who died during military service or as a result of a service-connected disability.

Patriot Express is a streamlined program based on the SBA Express Program.

Patriot Express loans of up to $500,000 are available. Loans of $150,000 or less qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of 85 percent; higher loans qualify for a 75 percent guaranty. For loans of more than $350,000, lenders are required to take all available collateral for security, but they may obtain collateral for smaller loans based on individual bank requirements. Interest-rate maximums for Patriot Express loans are the same as those for regular SBA 7(a) loans: a maximum of prime plus 2.25 percent for maturities of less than seven years and prime plus 2.75 percent for maturity periods of seven years or more. Interest rates may be higher by 2 percent for loans of $25,000 or less; and 1 percent higher for loans between $25,000 and $50,000.

More than 150 banks have been approved to participate in Patriot Express.

“This initiative builds on the more than $1 billion annually in loans SBA guarantees for veteran-owned businesses, and the counseling assistance and procurement support it provides each year to more than 100,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reserve members,” said SBA Administrator Steven Preston, in the release.

Additional information about Patriot Express is available at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress.