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US small businesses received $44.8 billion in funding through SBA loans in 2021
US small businesses received $44.8 billion in funding through SBA loans in 2021
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has distributed $44.8 billion in funding to small businesses across the country through 61,000 loans in fiscal year 2021.
SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced this week that the federal administration delivered a record number of traditional loans to small businesses during the second year of the pandemic. The loans are part of $1.1 trillion in total COVID-related relief since the start of the pandemic, according to Guzman.
This fiscal year, the administration lent $36.5 billion in 7(a) loans, $8.2 billion in 504 loans and $71.8 million in microloans.
Lenders reported that minority business owners received nearly $11 billion in 7(a) loans or 30% of the SBA’s total 7(a) portfolio. Minority business owners received nearly $1.88 billion in 504 loans, accounting for 23% of the 504 portfolio.
For its microloan funding, 41% of loans went to underserved communities.
In 2021, SBA’s low-interest 504 loan program grew in loan volume by 41% and the SBA team is already at work for fiscal year 2022, said Patrick Kelley, associate administrator for the Office of Capital Access.
Despite the growth in SBA’s loan distribution this year, there continue to be equity challenges when it comes to who has access to the loans, said Guzman.
“While progress has been made, our data also tells a deeper story: historic inequities in accessing capital persist, and we must do more to lower the barriers of entry to opportunity for all our entrepreneurs,” she said. “We will continue to build on our impactful programs to meet small businesses where they are and connect them with the resources needed to thrive.”
