Displaying items tagged: US Small Business Administration

COMSTOCK PARK — While cautiously optimistic about the 2021 season, West Michigan Whitecaps CEO Joe Chamberlin and his front office must still contend with the giant deficit left when Minor League Baseball shut down the entire 2020 season because of COVID-19.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s guidance for companies that got Paycheck Protection Program loans and are now selling aims to keep deals flowing as borrowers await decisions on whether they’ll have debt forgiven.

More than seven in 10 small businesses in Michigan expect further sales declines from the COVID-19 pandemic in the months ahead, according to new survey results from the Small Business Association of Michigan.

GRANDVILLE — U.S. Small Business Administration officials visiting Michigan this week say the federal agency has undergone a major transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic while recognizing inequities in a key relief program for small businesses.

Given how hard the economy fell in the second quarter, earnings for West Michigan-based banks held up relatively well, although they were primarily lower than a year earlier as banks set aside more in reserve to cover potential future loan losses.

Changes by the Federal Reserve Board should draw greater interest to the new $600 billion Main Street Lending Program for small and mid-sized businesses hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes to a federal loan program that has helped small businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic could generate a “huge uptick” in loan demand that has waned in the last few weeks, according to U.S. Small Business Administration officials.

Changes approved by Congress to the federal Paycheck Protection Program would give millions of small businesses more time to use the money and adjust how much of the loan needs to go to payroll expenses to earn forgiveness.

 After approving more loans in six weeks than during the prior nearly 60 years combined, the U.S. Small Business Administration now looks to provide debt forgiveness to borrowers.

In a recent conference call, the president and CEO of Detroit-based TCF Financial Corp. — the parent company of what remains known in Michigan as Chemical Bank — voiced a simple ethic that all businesses, no matter their industry or their size, must keep in mind in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second round of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program has seen more loans approved for lesser amounts, an indication that smaller businesses are getting assistance.

BELLAIRE — Short’s Brewing Co. has received a roughly $1 million loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration to help offset the impacts of the coronavirus, company officials told MiBiz today.

The U.S. Small Business Administration approved relief loans totaling $10.38 billion for nearly 43,500 small companies in Michigan before running out of money.

Huntington Bank has temporarily stopped taking application from companies seeking a U.S. Small Business Administration loan to get them through the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic $2 trillion federal economic stimulus bill signed into law Friday contains $350 billion in loans for small businesses that could transition into grants.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and federal lawmakers have taken a variety of steps to help businesses and employees navigate the short-term harm posed by the coronavirus. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration promises to decide as quickly as possible on loan applications from small businesses hurt by the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic.

Business organizations are offering plenty of advice and information to employers about the coronavirus pandemic and how to manage through the crisis.

A $500,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank will enable Northern Initiatives to put a larger focus on diversifying its lending.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s largest lending program wrote slightly more loans in Michigan through three quarters of the federal government’s fiscal year, although the value declined. Through June 30, the SBA backed 1,867 loans for $411.2 million in Michigan written under the 7(a) program, which compares to 1,847 loans for $500.8 million through the same period in the 2016 fiscal year.

Loans written under the SBA’s 504 lending program grew from year to year. Michigan had 160 loans for $115.3 million under the 504 program through June 30 of the current fiscal year, versus 127 loans for $83.8 million in the first three quarters of the 2016 fiscal year.

Here are 7(a) and 504 loan volumes in the state as of June 30, plus the top 20 banks and top 10 credit unions for 7(a) loans in Michigan.

As Neil Brown and Wade Thompson considered acquiring Central Interconnect Inc. late last year, they found themselves interested in the opportunity the company presented.

The new head of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Michigan office believes lending should continue to grow, even as volumes for the agency’s federally backed loans keep moving upward.

A business accelerator started by regional economic development organization Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

GRAND RAPIDS — Commerce Bank has moved into West Michigan, seeking to carve out a role in the middle market.

Two former office furniture executives hope to leverage their collective experience as they start on a new business venture in West Michigan.