The number of Small Business Administration loans fell by 20 percent in Colorado and 30 percent nationally in fiscal 2008, following a record year in 2007.
Tightening credit by commercial lenders, declining creditworthiness and reduced demand for loans were all cited as causes for the dip.
“This has been a tough year for small businesses in Colorado,” said Chris Chavez, spokesman for SBA Colorado. “For most of the year, we had $3 and $4 gasoline, and small businesses had to deal with that and consumer spending being down a little bit. ”
In Colorado during fiscal 2008, SBA lenders approved 2,256 loans worth $556 million. Last year, 2,808 loans for a total of $545 million were approved, according to data released Thursday.
Nationally last year, the SBA approved 100,000 loans for a total value of $20.6 billion. This year, the number of loans was about 70,000 and the dollar value fell 13 percent to $17.96 billion, but the average loan grew from $142,000 to $183,000.
The decline was seen throughout the fiscal year beginning in October 2007 and increased steadily as the year progressed.
“Election issues, recession fears, changes in cash flow have all thrown a monkey wrench into this money-lending situation,” Chavez said.
To combat the decline and boost loans in the next year, the SBA is hosting meetings nationwide to discover how the agency can work with lenders and small businesses to still provide effective assistance during the downturn.
In addition, the SBA in Colorado has also opened, for the first time, a Small Business Economic Hotline to get feedback from small-business owners and recently convened a Blue Ribbon Lender Advisory Council to find ways to connect business owners with capital.
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
