WASHINGTON — Two stimulus provisions that reduced fees and boosted guarantees on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans — a move intended to boost small-business lending — have run out of funds for a second time.
The original provisions ran out of funding in late November, and the Senate temporarily extended funding through February. The provisions set the maximum guarantees on SBA loans at 90%, and waived fees that the agency normally charges banks in order to promote lending.
Another piece of legislation — the Jobs for Main Street Act, which passed in the House in December — would extend the provisions through September.
In the mean time, SBA has reopened its Recovery Loan Queue, the same online tool it used in November to handle applicants hoping to get in on the last remaining dollars. The site allows potential borrowers and lenders to check the progress of loan requests.
The incentives have boosted small-business lending significantly from pre-stimulus levels at the end of 2008, according to SBA.
“We know there is still more work to be done,” Karen Mills, SBA chief, said in a statement. “As the President has requested, we will continue to work with Congress to extend these programs through September 2010.”
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