The Minnesota office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) said SBA-backed loans to Minnesota small businesses through participating banks and other lenders declined in fiscal 2018 ended in September.
The SBA guaranteed 1,774 loans, including real estate mortgages, valued at $609 million, compared with 2056 loans valued at $681.2 million in fiscal 2017.
The Minnesota SBA office indicated that lenders relied less on the SBA guarantee program, which requires more due diligence, as more small-business customers qualified for conventional financing as their businesses prospered in a good economy in 2017-18.
Nancy Libersky, the Minnesota SBA district director, noted that SBA lending often declines somewhat during a change in the presidential administrations as borrowers and lenders assess a new political landscape.Morever, she cited improved small business fortunes over the last year.
"We have talked to many lenders and with the economy being strong these businesses are doing well and qualifying for conventional bank loans or they just don't need financing right now," Libersky said. "Also, our 'microloans' have increased to very small ethnic borrowers at lower dollar amounts through [nonprofit business advisors] such as WomenVenture, Neighborhood Development Center and African Development Center. "
The top lenders in Minnesota by number of loans were:
LENDERS
LOANS
Wells Fargo Bank
130
U.S. Bank
130
Minnesota Business Finance Corp*
92
Sunrise Banks
61
Twin Cities-Metro Certified Development
59
BankVista
59
KleinBank
56
21st Century Bank
54
Choice Financial Group
48
SPEDCO
45
Nationally, the SBA in fiscal 2018 said it guaranteed $30 billion-plus through more than 72,000 approved loans "to small businesses that otherwise would not have had access to capital."
