Massachusetts' small business lending fueled by loan limit increases

10/25/2011

A combination of reduced fees and a temporary loan limit increase led to a nearly 20 percent rise in SBA lending in Massachusetts during the 2011 fiscal year, the Worcester Business Journal Online reports. Total lending in the state reached $424 million - a 19 percent increase from 2010.

Robert Nelson, Massachusetts' district director for the SBA, cites loan limit changes in the federal Small Business Jobs Act as one of the main reasons that the average state SBA loan rose from nearly $130,000 in 2006 to almost $220,000 in 2011.

The temporary modification raised Express Loan program limits from $350,000 to $1 million, and permanently hiked the limit for most other SBA loans from $3 million to $5 million. These moves were part of the SBA's "broader agenda to improve access to credit to small businesses" in addition to its $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, an SBA Fact Sheet notes.

Nelson added that the higher loan limits were especially helpful in Massachusetts where "technology companies are important drivers of growth."