Administration Urges U.S. Treasury Department to Increase Size Limit on SBA Loans

December 7th, 2009

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Karen Mills, head of the U.S Small Business Association, hosted the Small Business Financing Forum on Nov. 18 at the U.S. Treasury Department, sustaining a pledge by President Barack Obama when he announced two initiatives to boost lending to small businesses last month.

Under President Obama’s plan, the Treasury would utilize Troubled Asset Relief Program resources to provide low-cost capital to community banks, which they would use for small-business loans. Obama also called for increasing the size limit on SBA loans to help strong small businesses develop as the economy recuperates.

The Treasury Department is working on the final terms of the program, and it could be up and running as early as December. Smaller community banks may be apprehensive about participating in the program because of current conditions. In order to ease lenders reservations, Congress has imposed limitations on recipients of TARP funds, such as restraining executive compensation and giving the government an ownership stake.

To watch the forum in its entirety, visit the link below:

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessforum/index.html

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