SBA Loans down by nearly half for just-completed quarter.
Fewer than 8,300 SBA 7 (a) program loans were made to small businesses in the first three months of 2009, a decline of nearly 50% from about 19,000 SBA-backed loans issued in the same period last year.
The drop off in lending is a consequence of the credit crunch as well as the economic decline and "frozen" secondary market, according to SBA spokesman, Jonathan Swain.
These factors also are considered the main causes of the slowdown in sale of small and mid-market businesses, as reported by business brokers in various sectors of the country.
But Swain did note some improvement in the volume of loans made in the last two weeks of March. Values averaged $146 per week since March 16, up from the $120 weekly average during most of the quarter.
This improvement followed changes in SBA rules to encourage lending, and an additional $15 billion pumped into the system by the purchase of existing loans, as part of the Administration's recovery strategy.
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