Banks Increase Lending to Small Businesses

Georgia banks have increased their lending to small businesses by $22.6 million, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) has provided the money to the banks as part of the Small Business Jobs Act that was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The SBLF encourages community banks to increase their lending to small businesses to help them grow and create new jobs, the statement said.  

The Treasury has so far invested more than $4 billion in 332 institutions, located in over 3,000 communities in 48 states, through the SBLF. Nationwide, institutions participating in the SBLF significantly increased small business lending in the last quarter of 2011 by $1.3 billion over the prior quarter — for a total of $4.8 billion over their baseline.

“This report shows that the Small Business Lending Fund is having a powerful impact,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin. “The program is helping spark new lending to local entrepreneurs looking to invest in their businesses and create new jobs.”

The report on the SBLF released yesterday can be seen here. For more details on the SBLF program itself, please click here.

The SBLF is a part of the Obama Administration’s agenda to help small businesses access the capital they need to invest and hire, according to the press release.

Last week, President Obama also signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, allowing Main Street small businesses to raise capital from investors more efficiently, and helping small firms across the country to grow and hire more quickly. For more details on the JOBS Act, please visit here and here.