The Small Business Administration

About

Created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Small Business Administration's (SBA) number one strategic goal is growing businesses and creating jobs, and its second goal is to serve as the voice for small business. The major tools employed by the SBA are a range of financial assistance programs for small businesses that may have trouble qualifying for a traditional bank loan. SBA's programs also include financial and federal contract procurement assistance, management assistance, and specialized outreach to women, minorities and armed forces veterans. SBA also provides loans to victims of natural disasters and specialized advice and assistance in international trade. [1]

Major Loan Programs

7(a)

• The biggest program is the 7(a) Loan Guarantee, which guarantees as much as 85% of loans up to $150,000 and 75% of loans of more than $150,000. The maximum loan SBA guarantees is 5 million. [2]
• 7(a) loan applications are made to and funded by SBA accredited partners. When a business applies for an SBA loan, it is actually applying for a commercial loan, structured according to SBA requirements. The lender is largely protected by the SBA guarantee.
• A small business pays between 7.5%-9.5% interest on their loan. This interest is split between: banks, which can charge no more than 2.75% on top of the prime rate (currently 3.25%), and a SBA guarantee fee ranging between 2%-3.75%. [3]
• In 2015 the SBA approved 63,461 7(a) loans for a sum of $23.58b at an average of $371k. The total of all loans guaranteed was $111.769b with a bad debt rate (called charged off) of less than 1 per cent. [4]
• 7(a) program is targeted towards larger companies with 2-3 years of experience. This loan is not geared towards startups or "smaller" large businesses, as evidenced by the average loan size of $317,000. [5]