WASHINGTON -- To make it accessible to even more credit unions and community banks, the Small Business Administration has extended its Small/Rural Lender Advantage program to Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.
The lending program is part of the agency's 7(a) loan program and encourages smaller and rural lenders, defined as those making 20 or fewer SBA loans a year, to offer the agency's loans by streamlining the loan application and approval processes.
The pilot program was initiated and tested in January in SBA's Region VIII--North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana. The pilot has now extended to Region VII, which covers Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. SBA said it expects to expand the initiative nationwide by the end of the fiscal year.
The lending initiative offers a shorter, simplified application for loans of $350,000 or less, processing time of three to five days and an 85% guaranty for loans of $150,000 or less, according to SBA.
The agency said the number of banks nationwide using SBA loan programs has declined by nearly 400 over the past two years, and it is hoping the Small/Rural Lender Advantage program's streamlined application process will help to win them back.
--msamaad@cutimes.com
