Loan and Credit Assistance Expected to Generate $165 Million in Lending to Oregon Small Businesses Over the Next Four Years. Business Oregon has now begun accepting applications from Oregon small businesses for the $16.5 million in federal small business assistance.
The funding, from the U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), is expected to generate lending up to 10 times the amount received—or an estimated $165 million over the next four years through existing Business Oregon financing programs. Oregon small businesses interested in applying for funds can find more information at Business Oregon’s Web site.
As Oregon’s economy continues to strengthen, many lenders are aggressively seeking government assistance to help mitigate collateral, cash flow and credit weaknesses in the business applications they are considering. The SSBCI funding will go a long way toward meeting that demand and will help create jobs here in Oregon.
“Oregon is a small-business state and improving access to capital for small business is critical to the future success of our economy,” said Governor John Kitzhaber. “These awards will mean Oregon’s small businesses can retain employees and create new jobs for Oregonians.”
The funds will be disbursed through the existing Oregon Business Development Fund (OBDF), the Credit Enhancement Fund (CEF) and the Capital Access Program (CAP). These three finance programs have years of proven success making direct loans to Oregon small businesses, participating in loan loss reserves programs or issuing loan guarantees to financial institutions for the benefit of small businesses.
Since the implementation of these loan programs, OBDF, CAP and CEF have helped make 3,627 loans valued at $387 million, resulting in Oregon’s small businesses obtaining over $817 million in public and private financing.
