|
RCBJ-Audible (Listen For Free)
 |
Small Businesses Can Now Apply For 504 Loans At Low-Interest Rates
The U.S. Small Business Administration has updated its interest rates for the 504 Loan Program offered by Certified Development Companies (CDC) — a welcome update for small businesses strapped for cash while the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic continue to plague the economy.
The program offers 10, 20, and 25-year interest rates at 2.231 percent, 2.364 percent, and 2.399 percent, respectively. Small businesses can apply now.
“These are very encouraging terms and very supportive of our nation’s goal to bounce-back from COVID-19,” said William Manger, SBA Chief of Staff and Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access. “The longer terms and now lowest interest rates support and encourage entrepreneurs to step outside of the box and look at real investments.”
Partnered with the SBA are the CDCs, which are the driving force behind the 504 Loan Program. See SBA’s 504 Loan Program factsheet for more information on how to expand your business real estate or improve your working capital.
The 504 Loan Program is an SBA business loan program authorized under Title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, 15 U.S.C. 695 et seq. The core mission of the 504 Loan Program is to provide long-term financing to small businesses for the purchase or improvement of land, buildings, and major equipment, to facilitate the creation or retention of jobs, and to support local economic development.
For questions about the 504 Loan Program, please contact your local SBA District office
In Other News
SBA Proposes Small Business Size Standard Revisions in Three Industrial Sectors; Change Targeted at Increasing Eligibility for Contracting & Loan Programs
Public comments are due January 12.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking public comments on a proposed rule that would revise the small business size standards for businesses in three North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) sectors to increase small business eligibility for SBA’s loan and contracting programs.
Comments may be submitted on this proposed rule on or before Jan. 12, 2021 at www.regulations.gov, using the following RIN number: RIN 3245-AG91. You may also comment by mail to Khem R. Sharma, Chief, Size Standards Division, 409 3rd Street SW, Mail Code 6530, Washington, D.C., 20416.
The NAICS sectors reviewed in the proposed rule are: Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Management of Companies and Enterprises; and Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. SBA proposes to increase size standards for 46 industries in those sectors.
SBA estimates that about 2,600 additional firms in these three sectors will become eligible for SBA’s programs under the revised size standards, if adopted.
The proposed rule is part of a five-year comprehensive review of small business size standards, as required under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The proposed revisions reflect changes in industry and federal marketplace conditions and SBA’s policy position under the current economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, SBA is retaining current size standards where data suggests that size standards should be lowered.
As part of the ongoing review of all size standards, SBA considers the structural characteristics of individual industries, including average firm size, the degree of competition, and federal government contracting trends. This ensures that small business size standards reflect current economic conditions in those industries. The proposed revisions to the size standards in these sectors will enable more small businesses to retain their small business status, provide federal agencies a larger pool of small businesses to choose from for small business procurement opportunities and help eligible small businesses benefit from SBA’s loan programs.
An SBA-issued White Paper entitled, “SBA’S Size Standards Methodology,” which explains how SBA establishes, reviews and modifies its receipts-based and employee-based small business size standards, can be viewed at https://www.sba.gov/size.
For more information about SBA’s revisions to its small business size standards, visit “announcements about updating size standards” at https://www.sba.gov/size.