$25M Small Business Loan Fund To Help Business Owners

Oct. 27, 2010 - PRLog -- The Tennessee Bankers Association officially announed today the creation of a fund to provide up to $25 million for small business loans to Tennessee small businesses.

The Tennessee Small Business Jobs Opportunity Fund will begin with $10 million in state funds approved by the General Assembly this year, and a consortium of banks throughout the state will add $15 million to the pot, said Matt Kisber, the state’s commissioner of economic and community development.
Intended for businesses with fewer than 100 employees, the business loans will be administered by the non-profit Pathway Lending, and will provide money for business expansion and job creation, said Clint Gwin, president of Pathway.

A drive has begun to gain commitments from banks to participate in the public-private partnership, and Pathway hopes to have the banks’ portion of the fund in hand within a year, Gwin said.

“Small businesses create the majority of new jobs in our communities and they are playing a major role in the economic recovery of our state,” said state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, a banker who also is chairman of the state bankers’ association. “We must continue to show our support by finding creative and effective ways to develop resources so that businesses in Tennessee cannot only survive, but thrive.”

The loans are available to small businesses all over Tennessee, and will have current market interest rates, Gwin said.  Unsecured business loans are however not available to business owners as per this program.

Original Article at: http://www.getfastcapital.com/blog/25m-small-business-loa... .

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