(Feb. 5) President Obama met with long time SBA lending professional Eddie Tuvin of Capital Bank. In the national address from the offices of one of Eddie's borrowers in Lanham, MD, the President commended Eddie and Capital Bank for its support of small business lending initiatives in the US. Eddie is Vice President of Small Business Lending for Capital Bank, the Acting Executive Director of The Main Street Initiative, and Vice President of the Maryland Commercial Lenders Association. Eddie received the 2009 ARC Lender of the Year Award from the US Small Business Administration Washington DC District.

Miami Herald: Stop the Stalling, Help Small Businesses President Obama's belated effort to boost government help for small businesses puts the focus of the economic recovery program where it should have been from the start -- on Main Street. The economy is unlikely to regain momentum until small businesses restart their engines. They're the principal drivers of the economy, responsible for creating nearly two out of every three new jobs over the last 15 years. In Florida, nine of every 10 businesses fall into this category. . . . keep reading SBA loan expansion 'can only be helpful' to small businesses Ira Lutsky, president of New Jersey's largest 504 lender, the New Jersey Business Finance Corp., in Fort Lee, said he is very much in favor of Obama's refinancing proposal. "There is a lot of commercial real estate coming up for refinancing, and with the banks being more cautious, this will be very helpful," he said. He would like to see borrowers who have equity in their property be allowed to use 504 to both refinance and obtain working capital, and not just use it to refinance debt. . . . keep reading Obama Proposes Expanding SBA Loan Limits President Barack Obama has called for expanding the size of loans made through the Small Business Administration's SBA Express program from $350,000 to $1 million. Obama also proposed on Friday to expand the Certified Development Company/504 program to provide more refinancing of existing commercial real estate mortgages. In his weekly address on Saturday, Obama urged Congress to move forward with these and other recent proposals to aid small businesses. . . . keep reading Obama Seeks More Ammo for SBA - Portfolio.com "Right now, even companies with great credit histories are facing challenges refinancing at what are historically low rates," Obama said. "Property values have fallen, and lending has dropped. As a result, many businesses that would otherwise survive this downturn are at a risk of defaulting, which in turn will lead to even lower property values and less lending, not to mention lost jobs." . . . keep reading Commercial Real Estate Will Rise - Jerry Chautin 90% SBA-504 loans are available for small-business owners who would rather own than lease an office building, warehouse, restaurant or other kind of commercial facility. Borrowers are required to occupy more than half of the building and create or retain jobs as part of the transaction. Prior to the credit crunch, banks that made these loans had the option of selling them to investors in the secondary market. But the secondary market is frozen and the U.S. Small Business Administration is trying to reinvigorate it. . . . keep reading Velasquez off the Reservation--Blasts Obama's SBA Proposal "With loan defaults on the rise, we should not base our strategy on increasing the size of the least stable SBA lending program," Velazquez said. "SBA Express has acted as nothing more than a giveaway to Big Banks and expanding it will neither further economic recovery, nor create new jobs." As an alternative, Velazquez called for other steps to improve the flow of capital to small businesses. She observed that, in both October and last February, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would enable the SBA to fill in the gap when small business credit markets do not function correctly. Enacting that proposal and extending elements of the Recovery Act that were signed into law last February would make credit more available and affordable for aspiring entrepreneurs and existing businesses. . . . keep reading Winick: "We remain cautiously optimistic and await Congressional action" for the $30B Small Business Fund Increasing small business lending by 10% based on a 2008-2009 baseline should be a drop-kick for banks that embrace the SBA lending programs. So, in effect, it is capital that pays a 1% dividend. In addition, the Administration cannot make SBA lending any more attractive than it is today without creating a perverse incentive to make bad loans. Arguably, we are already at that point since a bank can make a 7(a) loan with a 90% guarantee and sell its guaranteed portion at a premium as high at 110%. . . . keep reading Best Practices: Stock Purchase When the stock of the entity is being acquired by another entity or individual(s), both the entity being acquired and the individual(s)/entity acquiring the stock must be co-borrowers on the loan. The SOP 50-10 5 (B) requires the note to be executed on "a joint and several basis by both the individual(s) who acquires the stock and the corporate entity being acquired." . . . keep reading Senate Small Business Letter to Secretary Geithner Under Scrutiny from Small Business Community In speaking with an SBA Department manager yesterday, I learned that his bank's cost of funds was approximately Prime - 2.00%, which I believe is indicative of similar institutions. Since that puts their "spread" at 4.75%, the bank is able to generate profits and is actively lending to small businesses. The government has not learned from its experience with TARP monies and large banks, wherein the banks took the funds, but re-paid them as quickly as possible...not only because they were unable to generate profits on those funds, but also to avoid the compensation restrictions that were included in the program. . . . keep reading Stimulus-Enhanced SBA Loans More Available and More Affordable Unity Bank's Senior Vice President/Commercial Lending Officer, Michael Downes, said, "By eliminating the borrower guaranty fees and increasing the lender guaranteed repayment, the SBA has definitely made small business loans more attractive to both lenders and borrowers. Unity Bank was built on the SBA loan market, so we possess a great deal of history, knowledge, expertise and experience in helping our small business customers secure the funding they need to start and build their businesses. As a community bank that prides itself on building and nurturing personal relationships in the local towns we serve, we're very pleased to be able to offer our business customers enhanced SBA loans at current lower interest rates." . . . keep reading SBA-Backed Loans Are Bright Spot in Gloomy Climate - WSJ Having already tried multiple programs to tackle this problem, the U.S. government continues to propose solutions, such as the recently announced $30 billion allocation of relief funds for community banks. Thus far, most of the initiatives haven't made a substantial impact, primarily because they fail to entice lenders to participate or they target too few business owners. But loans backed by the Small Business Administration may be emerging as a bright spot in the otherwise bleak lending climate. . . . keep reading Obama Takes a Tough Question on S.B.A. Lending - NY Times One nice thing about our president is that he has the intellectual self-confidence to take questions from anyone who cares to ask, regardless of whether the interlocutor agrees with him. And so it happened that once more, an entrepreneur had the opportunity to pose to President Obama a question that Agenda readers have raised more than once. . . . keep reading NPR Interview - Coleman Praises $30 Billion Small Business Fund BOB COLEMAN: $30 billion with a "b" is certainly a positive development for the entrepreneur on Main Street. That entrepreneur needs the local community bank to meet payroll, to fund their working capital to pay their vendors. . . . keep reading Exclusive: Small business loan defaults down in December - Reuters Defaults by small and medium-sized U.S. businesses on loans, leases and credit lines to finance capital equipment investment fell for the first time in two years in December, adding to signs of a nascent economic recovery, PayNet Inc reported. . . . keep reading Wells Fargo Small Business Lending Executive Q&A The bank hired 1,300 bankers in 2009 to focus on small-business growth at both Wells Fargo- and Wachovia-branded locations across the country, and plans to add another 700 in 2010. It's part of a broader effort to grow lending to very small business customers by more than 20% this year. With over 2 million small-business customers, Wells is using its cross-selling prowess to offer additional products and services besides the loan, like retirement planning and financial advising. . . . keep reading Landrieu Praises Treasury's New Community Lending Program for Small Businesses Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., who has shepherded small business job-creation measures through her Committee, made the following comment in regard to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's unveiling of the $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, a fund that directs money to community banks for small business lending: . . . keep reading Obama proposes $30 billion allocation for small-business loans - Washington Post President Obama highlighted this proposal in his State of the Union address last Wednesday. He travels to Nashua, NH today to tour a local business and hold a town meeting. In announcing this new program, the president will note that in the current economy, small businesses are struggling to get loans as lending standards at community banks have tightened. . . . keep reading SBA Seeks Nearly $1 Billion for Programs For fiscal year 2011, the SBA's proposed budget of $994 million aims to bolster the agency's 7(a) loan program and extend revolving lines of credit, commercial real estate loans and term loans. The 2011 budget provides $165 million in subsidy costs to support $17.5 billion in 7(a) loan guarantees. This includes an estimated $16 billion in term loans and $1.5 billion in revolving lines of credit, which are expected to support $39 billion in total economic activity through draws and repayments over the life of the guarantee, according to the SBA. . . . keep reading H.R. 4508 - Additional Temporary Extension of Authorization Programs Under the Small Business Act until April 30, 2010 Small-business financing. Voting 410-4, the House passed a bill (HR 4508) to extend several Small Business Administration loan and grant programs while awaiting Senate action on a House-passed bill to upgrade and reauthorize those programs. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on January 30, 2010. . . . keep reading For Some A.R.C. Loan Borrowers, an Expensive Surprise Caps the Long Wait The bank informs customers they have been approved for an A.R.C. loan once it has concluded they are creditworthy, but, Mr. Burke added, "after we do a credit approval, we have to get all the documentation in place for other aspects of a loan. And that can take some time. This is not unusual with an S.B.A. loan. If the S.B.A. had made this program as easy as they said they wanted to, these things could turn around in one or two weeks." . . . keep reading "It is better to Lend than Spend!" SBA and USDA's Role in Economic Stimulus Lend the funds to entrepreneurs to "take a chance on of their dream" and become their own "boss," as small businesses create the jobs. Give community banks the funds and structure to make relatively cheap loans to entrepreneurs. Give small business tax breaks for new jobs, equipment and technology. Beef up the treasury support, $30 billion in tarp funds, for banks and job creating agencies such as SBA and USDA's Business & Industry Program . . . keep reading Announcing the COMMERCIAL Strategies for Success in Construction Lending Seminar: March 3-4, 2010 in Denver, Colorado This streamlined one-day plus educational and networking conference will host industry executives from across the nation to discuss core issues facing the commercial construction lending industry. The conference will kick-off with an opening Welcome and Registration on March 3 and follow with a full day of lectures and roundtable discussions on March 4. Sessions will include up-to-the-minute topics in the ever-changing commercial real estate and construction lending markets. . . . keep reading Whitlock Group Allies with MassMutual Quickclose The Whitlock Group is pleased to announce the creation of a strategic alliance with Robyn McGloin CFBS with MASSMUTUAL QUICKCLOSEsM. Robyn joined Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) in 1982. For the past 13 years her practice has focused on QuickClosesm, a proprietary expedited life and disability insurance underwriting service for SBA and conventional loans. . . . keep reading Obama Rejects SBA Direct Lending Program at Tampa Town Hall Meeting THE PRESIDENT: Well, this is a good question. Look, first of all, you should be aware that we have increased SBA loans during the course of this year by 70 percent in some cases. And by the way, we've waived some of the fees and red tape that are associated with you getting a loan from the SBA. Now, it's not enough. Just -- I know you're shaking your head here. I understand it's not enough because you still want a loan. So -- but you need to -- I just want you to know, it's not like we haven't thought of why don't we use the SBA. We have. The challenge that we've got is, is that even SBA loans are generally run not by the SBA; the SBA essentially works with local banks, community banks, neighborhood banks, to process the loan. And essentially the SBA underwrites the loan. And so the SBA does not have the infrastructure to go all across the country in every region and process loans to small businesses directly because they don't have enough people. Somebody yelled, "Why not?" The SBA doesn't have the staff to do it. . . . keep reading Local Bankers Await Specifics of Obama's Plan "Frankly out of the entire speech that was the only piece that got my attention," he said. "I was encouraged by that part, I just don't know what it means." Thus far all that's known is that Obama plans to attempt to spur job growth by getting billions of dollars out of the highly unpopular Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank bailout and into the hands of small businesses. For Daniel Doyle, president and CEO of Central Valley Community Bank, Obama was "still using sound bites and what he thinks people want to hear." . . . keep reading More

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