Year in Review: Small Business Funding

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This year has been quite the rollercoaster ride for small business owners.  Bank lending standards remained tight from the previous year, making it extremely difficult for merchants to get bank loans and to top it off, with the creation of new consumer credit card laws, credit card providers increased rates and lowered the lines of credit offered through business credit cards, forcing some small business cardholders to close their accounts.

Throughout the year, however, a number of efforts were made to increase lending to small businesses and make it easier for small business owners to secure business funds.  Here’s a look at a few of the premier small business funding initiatives of 2009.

America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program

On June 15, 2009, the small business administration made ARC loans available to small business owners.  These loans are specifically for small businesses that are experiencing “immediate financial hardship,” and provide small business owners with $35,000 to pay off existing debt.

The ARC loan program had a rough start, due to the fact that many banks chose not to offer them, because of the tedious paperwork that came along with them.  And in November, Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), one of the original creators of the loan program, introduced a bill to repeal it, citing high default rates as the motive.

Still, the program has begun to pick up and some officials believe the funds will have been completely allocated before September 30, 2010, when the program officially ends.

Merchant Cash Advance

Though the merchant cash advance has been available for small business owners for over a decade, it has been especially helpful throughout this year.  As bank loans have become scarce, leading merchant cash advance providers have stepped up to the plate by providing eligible merchants with up to $500,000 in business cash.  By creating separate programs for higher-risk merchants, these providers have remained in business and have been able to provide business funds to merchants who need it.

TARP Leftovers

There are funds leftover from the $700 billion dollars that was set aside to bail out banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the Obama administration has announced plans of using some of the leftover funds to help create jobs within small businesses.

Though this initiative is still in the works, it has the potential to help numerous small business owners and unemployed Americans.