Express Loan Program

[from Go Crawford County] As part of their ongoing efforts to bolster the small business community, the nation's leading engine for economic growth, Congresswomen Kathy Dahlkemper, D-3rd Dist., introduced The Express Loans Improvements Act, H.R. 4598, to increase the availability and utility of SBA Express loans, a vital source of working capital for small businesses.

"Small businesses are the foundation of our economy; when small businesses succeed, they create jobs and opportunities in our communities. The tight credit market has limited small businesses' ability to grow and create new jobs in the process. This plan will give small businesses better access to credit and help community banks provide the lending our local economies need to prosper," Dahlkemper said.

The Express Loans Improvement Act would make changes to the Small Business Administration's Express Loans program, which gives an established network of lenders greater loan approval responsibility with less bureaucracy and shorter approval times. Under current law, the SBA guarantees up to 50 percent of the loan and the maximum loan size is $350,000. The proposal would raise guarantees to 75 percent for two years to address the immediate credit crunch, then to 60 percent in subsequent years, while raising the maximum Express loan value to $1 million.

To protect taxpayers, the bill directs the SBA to strengthen collateral rules and requires annual reporting to Congress on progress toward default rate reduction. The Express Loans Improvement Act has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Small Business Council of America, American Bankers Association, the American Small Business League and the Independent Community Bankers of America.