The U.S. Small Business Administration’s total loan volume for fiscal 2018 reached more than $30 billion with more than 72,000 approved loans, the organization recently announced.
“We are providing tools, resources and access to capital for America’s 30 million small businesses, and our FY18 numbers bear that out,” Linda McMahon, SBA administrator. “SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan programs have never been more dynamic, easy to use and accessible – helping small businesses succeed and thrive. Our loan programs in FY18 continue to show strong performance, and we believe the President’s tax cuts and deregulatory actions will help more small businesses grow and prosper in the coming year.”
In 2018 there were approximately 60,353 7(a) loans made, with a total dollar amount of $25.37 billion. The 7(a) program is SBA’s flagship program, which offers guarantees on loans to small businesses of up to $5 million on reasonable terms and conditions. 7(a) loans are commonly used for acquiring land, purchasing equipment, or working capital.
The SBA’s 504 loan program had another year of high performance for lending, with 5,874 loans made for a total dollar amount of over $4.75 billion. In FY18, SBA launched the 25-year Debenture, which offers an extra 60 months of financing at a fixed rate for small businesses. Since its introduction in April, more than 1,000 debentures had been sold by the end of September.
“The 25-year Debenture is designed to help free up cash flow and offer fixed rates in a rising interest rate environment for 504 borrowers and we are pleased to see over $1 billion has been disbursed in less than six months,” said William Manger, associate administrator for SBA’s office of capital access.
2018 also showed significant growth in the SBA’s smaller loans, including a record volume of dollars lent in the Microloan and Community Advantage Programs. Specifically, more than 5,000 loans were approved for over $72 million in the Microloan program and more than 1,000 loans for more than $150 million in SBA’s Community Advantage program.