SBA Lending Activity in FY 2013 Shows SBA Continuing to Help Small Businesses Grow

The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced its third highest year of SBA lending to date, surpassed only by the SBA’s two record years of supporting more than $30 billion in FY 2011 and 2012.

In FY 2013, SBA supported more than $29 billion in lending to America’s small businesses, giving small businesses critical access to the capital they need to start and grow their business.

One of SBA’s primary missions is to ensure that small business owners have access to the capital they need to start and grow their businesses. Since President Obama took office, SBA has supported more than $126 billion in lending to more than 260,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs. During the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, SBA loan approvals supported $29.6 billion (54,106 loans) to small businesses in its two main loan programs, 7(a) and 504, compared to $30.25 billion (53,848 loans) in FY 2012 and $30.5 billion (61,689 loans) in FY 2011.

SBA’s streamlining of the Small Loan Advantage (SLA) programs also continued to produce dramatic results, increasing the number of lower-dollar SBA 7(a) loans going to small businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved communities. The program, which is a key 7(a) loan initiative designed to expand access to loans under $350,000, was first launched in Feb. 2011, and revamped in June 2012.

SBA has significantly reduced paperwork for the SLA program and expanded our pool of lenders–changes that have resulted in a more than 300 percent increase in SLA loans and an over 700 percent increase in the number of lenders using the program. In FY 2013, SBA backed almost 5,000 loans for nearly $745 million through the SLA program.