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President Obama Announces New Small Business Lending Initiatives (October 21 2009)
Poziom:
Temat: Biznes
The President:
Thank you. Please,
everybody, have a seat.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Joe, for
that introduction,
and for inviting us here
to Metropolitan Archives.
I want to acknowledge a few
other extraordinary guests.
First of all, the governor of
the great state of Maryland,
Martin O'Malley, is here.
(applause)
Senator Ben Cardin, who is doing
an outstanding job on behalf of
the state; House
Majority Leader Hoyer;
Representative Chris Van Hollen;
Representative Donna Edwards,
whose congressional
district we are in;
County Executive Jack Johnson;
Mayor William Gardner,
the mayor of Hyattsville; and
my outstanding Secretary of the
Treasury, Tim Geithner; as
well as my extraordinary SBA
administrator, Karen Mills.
I am so glad to have them
standing behind me today.
Five years ago, this company
was founded by Joe and his old
fraternity brother, Doug Peters.
I have not had a chance to ask
them what they were doing during
those frat years.
(laughter)
But they were two friends
who had known each other
since middle school.
And today, their families took
this company from an empty
warehouse to a small business
that stores and delivers records
for some of the largest
firms in the world.
And the success -- the story of
their success has been the story
of small business owners all
across the country -- men and
women from big cities
and from small towns,
who've had both a good idea and
the drive to follow through on
it; who've convinced family and
friends to join them in taking a
chance on a dream.
Now, these entrepreneurial
pioneers embody that spirit of
possibility and the tireless
work ethic and the simple hope
for something better that lies
at the heart of the American ideal.
And they've always formed
the backbone of the American economy.
They're the ones who've opened
up the mom-and-pop stores and
started the computer tinkering
that's led to some of the
biggest innovations and
corporations in the world.
After all, Hewlett-Packard
began in a garage.
Google began as a
research project.
McDonald's started with
just one restaurant.
Over the past decade and a half,
America's small businesses have
created 65 percent of all
new jobs in the country.
And more than half of all
Americans working in the private
sector are either employed by
a small business or own one --
more than half.
These companies are the engine
of job growth in America.
They fuel our prosperity.
And that's why they have to
be at the forefront of our recovery.
The problem is, our small
businesses have been some of the
hardest hit by this recession.
From the middle of 2007
through the end of 2008,
small businesses
lost 2.4 million jobs.
And because banks shrunk from
lending in the midst of the
financial crisis, it's been
difficult for entrepreneurs to
take out the loans they
need to start a business.
For those who do own
a small business,
it's been difficult to finance
inventories and make payroll,
or expand if things
are going well.
And that's why we made sure the
Recovery Act focused on helping
small businesses
expand and create jobs.
In it, we temporarily reduced or
eliminated fees on SBA loans --
loans that give small
businesses more money to
reinvest in their own futures.
And we guaranteed some of these
loans by up to 90 percent,
which has given local banks and
credit unions the confidence
they need to lend.
In the last eight months,
these steps have made a real
difference for small
businesses across America.
So far, the Recovery Act
has supported over 33,000
loans to small businesses that
have already helped save or
create nearly tens of thousands
of jobs -- nearly $13 billion in
new lending -- $13 billion.
And more than 1,200 banks and
credit unions that had stopped
issuing SBA loans when the
financial crisis hit are
lending again today.
And more than $4.3 billion in
federal contracts are now going
to small businesses.
We're also providing tax relief
to small businesses under the
Recovery Act -- relief that will
give these businesses back over
$5 billion this year.
And we're giving tax cuts
directly to 95 percent of
working Americans, which
includes the vast majority of
small business owners
and their employees.
So there's no question that our
Recovery Act has given a boost
to every American who works at
a small business, or owns one,
or aspires to own one.
There's no question that the
steps we've taken have improved
the overall climate for small
business across the country.
But there's also no question
that we've got a long way to go.
There's still too little credit
flowing to our small businesses.
There's still too many
entrepreneurs who can't get the
loans they need to open up
their doors and start hiring.
There's still too many who are
struggling to make payroll and
to stay open.
And there's still too many
successful small businesses that
want to expand further and hire
more but just don't have the
capital to do it.
Metropolitan Archives is
one of these companies.
Last February, Joe and Doug were
able to purchase the building
we're standing in with an SBA
loan -- an expansion that has
already helped them
retain 10 jobs,
and one that will create 10
new ones in the months ahead.
In fact, business is going so
well that they're already hoping
to expand again.
But they need another
loan to make it happen.
These are the kind of
stories I hear from small
business owners all the time.
And they're the kind of
stories that my unbelievable
administrator for the SBA, Karen
Mills, hears every single day.
And that's why today, we're
announcing new steps to support
more lending to America's small
businesses -- steps that will
lead to more jobs, more growth,
and a stronger economic recovery.
The first thing we need to do
is increase the maximum size of
various SBA loans.
So I'm calling on Congress to
increase the cap on what's
called 7(a) loans
to $5 million.
These are the loans most
frequently handed out by the
Small Business Administration to
help folks open their doors and
buy machinery, equipment,
land and buildings.
These larger loans will help
more small business owners
and franchisees grow.
We also need to increase the
maximum size of what's called
504 loans to $5 million.
These are the type of loans that
Joe and Doug used to expand this
business and create new jobs.
And we should also increase the
maximum size of micro loans --
these are smaller loans --
that go to start-ups and other
smaller businesses.
Today, we're also taking
additional steps to boost credit
for small businesses through
our financial stability plan.
The major banks that were in
critical condition a year ago
need no new assistance
from the government,
and so we're winding down that
portion of the TARP program.
But to spur lending
to small businesses,
it's essential that we make more
credit available to the smaller
banks and community financial
institutions that these
businesses depend on.
These are the community banks
who know their borrowers;
who gave them their first loan;
who've watched them grow from
down the street --
not from Wall Street.
The large majority of the
business loans from these
smaller banks are not to major
corporations -- they're to
entrepreneurs like Joe and Doug.
And when banks like these are
hit by recession and financial
crisis, creditworthy small
businesses lose out,
and that means less expansion
and fewer new jobs just when we
need them most.
And that's why we must do more
to give these new opportunities
to smaller banks so that they
have the ability to access
capital -- so that they can lend
to small businesses in their communities.
So under the new steps that
we're announcing today,
if these institutions put forth
a plan to increase lending to
small businesses, we will help
them get the credit they need to
do it at rates that are more
affordable than the ones offered
to our largest
financial institutions.
(applause)
And we will make capital even
more affordable to the community
development financial
institutions that focus on
providing credit to America's
small businesses in our hardest
hit rural and
underserved communities.
(applause)
Finally, I've asked Tim Geithner
and Karen Mills to convene a
conference in the coming weeks
that will bring together
regulators,
congressional leaders,
lenders and small businesses to
determine what additional steps
we can take to get credit
flowing to small businesses that
want to expand and
create more jobs.
Of all the steps we're taking to
move this economy from recession
to recovery, I continue to
believe that the success of our
small businesses will be a
foundation upon which our future
prosperity is built.
So we will continue to do
whatever we can to help these
businesses grow and thrive.
And I'm confident that the steps
we announced today will do that
for small business owners
across the country,
men and women we
hear from every day.
They're people like Andy Cabral.
Son of Portuguese immigrants,
Andy started his business on an
SBA loan and now runs 10 stores
across Maryland and Virginia
that employ 130 people.
And Andy has already seen one
loan fall through the cracks
because of the financial crisis
and he's hit the cap on his SBA loans.
But the measure we're announcing
today will help Andy and other
franchisees pursue their plans
to expand and create more jobs.
And these steps will make a
difference for more small
businesses like Pete's
APizza in Washington, D.C.
I recommend it -- that
everybody go out there.
(laughter)
When the three owners had little
more than a dream of opening up
a casual pizza restaurant, they
found it challenging to get financing.
Ultimately they got a loan
through City First Bank,
a community development
bank right in Washington.
Today, business is booming.
And the initiative we're
announcing today will help more
banks provide more loans
to businesses like Pete's.
And the steps we've announced
will make a difference for Joe
and Doug, and all the folks
who work here at Metropolitan Archives.
In the past five years, you've
done all that's asked of
Americans who hope to pursue
a dream of owning their own
business -- you've taken
a risk on a good idea,
you've worked hard
for your success,
you've met your responsibilities
to your employees and your customers.
It's time that responsibility
and that success are rewarded
with the opportunity to
keep growing, keep hiring,
keep contributing to the success
of your community and of your country.
That's the opportunity
we're providing today,
and that's the opportunity I
will continue to fight for as
your President in the
weeks and months ahead.
So to all the small
business owners out there,
I just want to close
by saying this.
I know that times are tough and
I can only imagine what many of
you are going through, in terms
of keeping things going in the
midst of a very tough
economic climate,
but I guarantee you this: This
administration is going to stand
behind small businesses.
You are our highest priority
because we are confident that
when you are succeeding,
America succeeds.
Thank you very much, everybody.
(applause)
