NC-CAP loan gives North Carolina businesses a boost

7/12/2011

Four North Carolina banks recently enrolled in the state's Capital Access Program, a loan plan that could give small business owners more leverage to achieve lending requirements, the Times-News reports.

North Carolina companies with 500 or fewer employees are eligible for funding, with a $5 million cap. These small business loans can be used to finance a land acquisition, construct or renovate a building, purchase equipment or simply as working capital.

"It is a way to help give the banks a little security issuing loans to small businesses," Garnet Bass, director of communications for the state's Rural Center, told the news source. "Financial institutions are being cautious in lending and this program will help free up some of that money."

Bass adds that the NC-CAP loan can also assist companies that are short on collateral and need help to put them over the edge.

Eligible candidates for the loan should be business owners with good credit and no bankruptcies, delinquencies or unexplained slow payments. They should also present an actionable business plan, own collateral and exhibit the ability to repay.

There have been 22 NC-CAP loans issued statewide.