According to a lending tally released this month, the Small Business Administration has been able to grant more than 1,000 emergency loans to struggling companies since it launched the much-anticipated America’s Recovery Capital program in mid-June.
Although the banks are still cautious about participating, the list confirms that the program is likely to hit its goal of making 10,000 loans by the time it ends in late 2010.
Out of 8,200 FDIC-backed banks in the U.S. around 400 lenders are currently making ARC loans. This small number could increase if it included top-tier SBA lenders with national reach. But out of SBA’s 10 most active lenders this year, only three have issued ARC loans. These three are Wells Fargo, PNC Financial and Zions Bank.
