Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended the much-criticized and now defunct Small Business Lending Fund this week, arguing the final volume of administered loans was ample proof of its success.
The SBLF was a $30 billion pool of capital available to community banks in the form of lending incentives to small businesses. It was passed as part of last year's Small Business Jobs and Credit Act. Closed last month, the program died having allotted only $4 billion, even as institutions applied for a total of $11.8 billion.
"You can't force banks to lend, but for every bank that got capital in this program they have more capacity to lend than they otherwise would have," Geithner told members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee about the fund, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Many organizations, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, have asserted that the availability of credit is not a leading problem facing small businesses, arguing instead that firms are suffering from a lack of sales. However, that issue may be turning around, as September showed a 1.1 percent hike in retail sales, according to the Commerce Department.
Tags : Taxes, Corporate Books, LLC, LP
Posted: Oct 19th, 2011