Check out... SBA Program Proves a Hit, but Now It Is in Limbo - WSJ.com

By Ruth Simon
August 5, 2010
WSJ.com


Pinnacle Bank made just two loans through the Small Business Administration in 2007 and 2008. So far this year, the Orange City, Fla., bank's total is nine, to borrowers from an auto dealer to a computer-equipment wholesaler to a bakery.

"The SBA program ios the only way we can continue to lend right now," says David Bridgeman, president of Pinnacle, which has two branches and assets of $213 million, including about 600 loans. For many of the $3.4 million in loans Pinnacle made through the SBA in 2010, the bank has to set aside capital against only the 10% slice that isn't guaranteed by the U.S. government.

The 7(a) program, the SBA's largest loan program, is hardly a cure for the credit shortage affecting the many borrowers. The agency is involved in less than 10% of all small business loans, and some banks won't participate because of red tape. Lenders must follow the SBA's rules when making 7(a) loans, which can be used for working capital, fixed assets and other business expenses. The term of the loan can be as long as 25 years.

Last year, Congress temporarily sweetened the 7(a) program by increasing the SBA guarantee to 90% of any given loan from as little as 75% previously. Lawmakers waived fees costing borrowers as much as 3.5% of the loan amount, as well as costs charged in a separate SBA program providing structured financing for fixed assets.

But the sweetened program is now in limbo, drawing from borrowers and lenders, as lawmakers haggle over broader small-business legislation...

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