If you've got a small business in need of a loan, don't hesitate to call, representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration and local banks said Monday.
"The SBA is well and alive and we're making loans," Frank Sciortino, Buffalo district director for the SBA, said in a teleconference with reporters on the impact of the economic slowdown on small businesses. "This economic slowdown unfortunately has affected us but hasn't affected the ability of our office or my staff to continue to service all the lenders in my district."
Bernard Paprocki, Syracuse district director of the SBA, said loan demand has fallen this year in the 34-county district. But he said banks in the region still are able to make loans, and the SBA is ready to assist through its programs, which include providing loan guarantees to lenders.
"It's no secret that our loans have gone down the past year," he said. "But just to let everyone know, we're willing and able to work with not only the public but with lenders to make sure they understand our programs."
Nationally, the volume of loans approved under the SBA's 504 and 7(a) loan guarantee programs fell 29 percent, from 110,275 in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2007, to 78,317 in 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2008. The dollar value of the loans fell 13 percent, from $20.6 billion to $17.96 billion, during the same period.
In the Syracuse district, approved loans fell 16 percent, from 956 in fiscal 2007 to 804 in fiscal 2008, and the dollar value of the loans fell 19 percent, from $157.05 million to $127.34 million.
Andrew Linehan, senior vice president of the New York Business Development Corp., a banking consortium, said businesses may be taking a wait-and-see approach to the economic situation.
"Although loan demand has decreased a little bit, we see that some of that decrease is only some of the business people who are just waiting to see how some other things shake out before they make their next move and take on that additional equipment or that expansion project," he said.
He said others may be under the impression that banks are not lending money anymore. But if that's what they are thinking, they are wrong, he said.
"You pick up the paper and that's what you read, that there's a credit crunch," he said. "There isn't really a credit crunch. There's a back-to-basics underwriting and what makes for a logical expansion. I hope that this slowdown is not a result of a perceived credit crunch."
Information about the SBA's loan guarantee and other programs can be found at www.sba.gov.