SBA sets loan records for FY 2006

According to an Oct. 3 news release, the SBA set records for both the number of loans and the amount loaned to small businesses.

The SBA backed a net 100,197 loans totaling $19.1 billion under its two primary small-business loan programs, the 7(a) loan guaranty program and the 504, or Certified Development Co. program, during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. In fiscal 2005, the SBA provided a net 94,554 loans worth $18.1 billion.

Through the Springfield branch office, the SBA approved 427 loans for $96,420,600.

Each of the primary programs also set records this year. The 7(a) program, most commonly used for working capital, produced 90,477 loans worth $13.46 billion. The 504 program, used for the purchase of real estate and fixed assets, provided 9,720 loans worth $5.61 billion.

“We are very pleased with the small-business lending performance this past year and for each of the previous five years,” said SBA Administrator Steven C. Preston, in a news release. “These numbers reflect the confidence American entrepreneurs have in the U.S. economy as well as in the SBA lending program that backs their loans.”

Preston noted that prior to 2002, the two lending programs never produced more than 42,000 loans combined.