The SBA said its two largest programs have approved $11.3 billion in loans as a result of reduced fees and higher guarantees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Since the Recovery Act was signed on Feb. 17, the SBA said it has supported more than $11.3 billion in lending to small businesses through its 7(a) and 504 loans programs and seen its average weekly dollar volume increase by more than 60% in comparison to the weeks before the Recovery Act.

As a result of the credit crunch, SBA lending saw a significant decline in the fall of 2008 and early 2009. For the seven weeks prior to the Recovery Act being signed, SBA's average weekly dollar volume was $165 million. The SBA said the average weekly average since the Recovery Act was signed, through Sept. 25, was $275 million.

SBA Administrator Karen Mills said Recovery Act provisions that reduced fees on loans and raised guarantees to 90%, as well as actions that reinvigorated the secondary markets for SBA-guaranteed loans as especially helpful in improving access to SBA-backed credit.