House and Senate Introduce Bills to Increase SBA Loan Limits

On December 14, Reps. Abercrombie (D-HI) and Lowey (D-NY) introduced HR 4302, the "Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009." The bill contains increases on loan limits for loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and provides for low interest refinancing for small businesses. The bill is identical to its Senate partner, S. 2869, sponsored by Sens. Landrieu (D-LA) and Snowe (R-ME).

The limits on SBA-backed loans from SBA-approved lenders would be pushed from as low as $1.5 million to $5 million, depending on the purpose of the loan. The bill would also allow a business, current on its past year's debts, to obtain low-interest SBA refinancing for reasons beyond expansion of the business, e.g. paying business expenses or creating/retaining jobs.

The introduction of this bill in both the House and the Senate is evidence that the issue is moving forward. The bills are still in the nascent stages, however, and a path to passage of the bill still remains unclear at this point.
NAR has been working with the SBA on related matters: in particular ensuring that REALTORS® are eligible for SBA loans. While brokers have traditionally been considered eligible, the SBA has clarified in writing that sales agents are also eligible for SBA loans. Following this success, NAR has been working to streamline the onerous SBA loan process. Higher guarantee limits for SBA loans would be a boon to REALTORS®, especially if NAR succeeds in efforts to help members more quickly and easily gain access to SBA financing channels.

Visit NAR's Small Business Administration Loans homepage on realtor.org 
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®