SBA Restores Former Levels of SBA Lending Caps!

Courtesy the Jim Greene, Minority Business Advocate. Source: Crain Communications

SBA loan program gets Congress' nod

A key small-business lending program that was sharply scaled back recently will be running at full capacity as early as next week.

Following House approval earlier this week, the U.S. Senate on Friday OK’d a bill that removes the $750,000 cap on the Small Business Administration’s flagship 7(a) loans, restoring the maximum to its previous $2 million level. The legislation, expected to be signed into law by President George W. Bush, also lifts the ban on lenders making combination, or "piggyback," loans to small businesses.

Funding shortfalls led the SBA to reduce the cap on the loan program late last year and even shut it down temporarily in January. The new bill raises annual lender fees on new loans to 0.36% from 0.25% to supplement the program’s funding.

The SBA's New York district office, which manages applications for New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and the mid-Hudson Valley, approved $390 million in loans for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc  ¶ 4/02/2004 05:05:00 PM

 

Free Medical Degree

Please pass this on to any African American who may be interested in a free medical degree. Washington University in St. Louis, the Medical School, now ranked number 2 (along with Baltimore's John's Hopkins University Medical School) has scholarships to award to bright black Americans. The students that are chosen will be awarded full tuition for 4 yrs - $30,000.00 per year plus $2,500.00 stipend. Check them out on the Web. Washington University Home page www.wustl.edu. For Complete instructions and deadlines for applying, call the office of Undergraduate Admission a t (800)638-0700 or (314)935-6087. To view the application and to obtain more information, you can also visit their web site at http://admissions.wustl.edu.

The Ervin Scholars Program selection committee evaluates all Applications and invites finalists to Washington University for interviews in the spring. The University pays all travel and interview expenses.

John B. Ervin Scholars Program ervin.wustl.edu
Dorothy Elliott Associate Director,
John B. Ervin Scholars Program
PH 314-935-7192
Fax: 314-935-5875
E-mail:delliot@artsci.wstl.edu

Adrienna L. Glore
Associate Dean for Students, 314-935-5040
E-mail:glore@dosa.wustl.edu  ¶ 4/02/2004 08:53:00 AM

 

Community Microloan Sources!

Have you ever noticed how our brothers and sisters in the Hispanic community are able to start viable community businesses. Well among many things they have a great organization called Accion see Accion!. Accion is a community based organization that funds businesses that can't get traditional bank funding. It has a training program and peer to peer follow-up program. Well Accion has gone International and is providing loans in Africa and Third world countries. It will help people of any ethnic background. Check it out and see if you can start to work towards getting financing with Accion. If you are in the tri-state area a similar organization is Project Enterprise in NYC at: Project Enterprise  ¶ 3/31/2004 06:58:00 AM