Small business lending reflects economic trends

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced 2019 fiscal year lending numbers showing that it guaranteed over $28 billion to entrepreneurs that otherwise would not have access to capital to start, grow, or expand their small businesses.

In the year, SBA’s flagship “7(a) loan program” made approximately 52,000 of those loans totaling $23.17 billion, the agency said.

The 504 loan program had another year of increased performance, with more than 6,000 loans made for a total dollar amount of more than $4.9 billion.

“With a strong economy and historically solid small business optimism, we know that 7(a) lenders are making loans conventionally without the SBA guarantee,” said William Manger, associate administrator for SBA’s Office of Capital Access.

“We also saw a 4.3% growth in the 504 loan program due to the longer term and low fixed interest rate that the product provides to small businesses.”

“We are also proud that our Microloan program had another record year with a nearly 7.5% increase in small business lending.”

In fiscal year 2019, there was significant growth of dollars lent in the SBA’s Microloan program, with more than 5,500 loans approved for nearly $81.5 million.

In addition to the strong lending numbers, the SBA said that it “continues to innovate and improve processes by leveraging enhanced technologies.”

One example cited is Lender Match, an SBA technology platform that gives entrepreneurs the ability to complete a quick online form, without registration or cost to the user to connect with an SBA-approved lender within 48 hours.

To date, Lender Match has generated 4.4 million leads on behalf of small businesses to our lenders, and lenders have contacted more than 230,000 unique borrowers with financing options.

For more information about SBA’s loan programs, financial assistance and other services, visit www.sba.gov