WASHINGTON — The Small Business Administration said it will not confirm whether Jovita Carranza, deputy administrator, will take over if SBA Administrator Steven Preston is confirmed by the Senate as the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In mid April, President Bush nominated Preston for the post, saying he would bring strong leadership to HUD during the current, unstable housing market. Preston would replace Alphonse Jackson who resigned from HUD on April 18 after legislators called for him to step down as a result of a federal criminal investigation on questionable HUD contracts.

Preston came to SBA in July 2006 and implemented a number of reforms to improve the agency's disaster assistance programs. During his tenure, Preston has continued to align with NCUA to encourage credit union participation in SBA's programs.

“We cannot confirm anything at this time,” said Christine Mangi, SBA spokeswoman, on whether Carranza will succeed Preston.

A former 30-year veteran at UPS, Carranza became SBA's deputy administrator in December 2006.