SBA Loans Grow to $30 Billion

The U.S. Small Business Administration approved more than 68,000 loans in the 7(a) and 504 loan programs in FY17, providing more than $30 billion to small businesses.
 
SBA’s flagship loan program, referred to as 7(a), provides small businesses with guaranteed loans covering the majority of small business needs including working capital, fixed and intangible asset financing, as well as refinance and export support through term and revolving loans.  In FY17, the 7(a) program supported more than $25.44 billion across 62,430 loans. The SBA continues to streamline and improve access to its loan program for small loans and emerging communities, delivering more than $5 billion in smaller loans of $350,000 or less in FY17.
 
504 loans provide small businesses with long-term fixed rate financing to acquire fixed assets, and are available through Certified Development Companies (CDCs), SBA’s community-based partners.  In FY17, the 504 program grew to $5 billion in loan volume.
 
Minority business owners received a record combined $9.58 billion in 7(a) and 504 approved lending, or 31 percent of the SBA’s loan portfolio.
 
7(a) lending to women-owned businesses (both majority and minority owned) grew in total dollar and volume.  FY17 lending exceeded $7.5 billion, an increase of $298 million from FY16.
 
FY17 504 lending to women-owned businesses reached $955.2 million, a $277 million increase over the previous fiscal year. Loans to veterans totaled $1.15 billion for 7(a) and 504 lending.
 
Also in FY17, SBA added 241 new lenders that have contributed to a healthy loan portfolio and one of the lowest loss rates in the SBA’s history.
 
In NH, 7(a) and 504 lending also saw an increase in both numbers and dollars of approved loans. The 7(a) increase was modest, with less than 1 percent increase in numbers and a 4.5 percent increase in dollars. 504 lending increased by 38 percent in numbers and 26.5 percent in dollars.  The 518 7(a) loans and 117 504 loans combined to 635 loans and nearly $124 million in small business financing. Loans to woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses also saw modest increases over the most recent fiscal years.
 
“We had about 65 different lenders participate in SBA lending in New Hampshire, and their efforts led to 2017’s outstanding results,” says Greta Johansson, NH SBA district director.

During the fiscal year, SBA launched its online lender referral tool, Lender Match, an upgrade to LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to access Capital). This tool helps connect small business borrowers with participating SBA lenders.  Lender Match is available to all SBA 7(a) lenders nationwide, including nonprofit lenders that offer free financial advice and specialize in micro lending, loans in SBA’s Community Advantage program, and the SBA’s CDC/504 loan program.  Lenders previously signed up for LINC will continue receiving referrals on the Lender Match platform.
 
During FY17, the SBA approved 27,263 disaster loans for a total of $1.7 billion. That total includes 24,121 home disaster loans for a total of $1.3 billion, and 3,142 business disaster loans for a total of $296 million.  The SBA processed 84,705 home loan applications and 10,882 business disaster loan applications—a total of 95,587 disaster loan applications processed.
 
For more information about SBA’s loan programs, financial assistance and other services, visit www.sba.gov.