[funnyPasds]

LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,4075879.story

A small-business owner could get up to $250,000 in capital under new loan initiatives being rolled out by the federal government.

The new Community Advantage loan program to be launched this spring is geared to underserved markets, including firms less than 2 years old, small businesses in low- to moderate-income communities and those owned by veterans.

The loans will be made directly to small-business borrowers by nonprofit lenders including the Valley Economic Development Center in Van Nuys. Such groups previously were not allowed to make loans guaranteed by the federal Small Business Administration.

"It's going to be a game changer for many of us who are trying to do lending to minority populations" said Roberto Barragan, president of the valley center, which provides business training and financing through seven offices. Loans under the new program will probably be available starting in June, he said.

Previously, the center and similar groups had to get banks to approve and issue loans to their clients, and those approvals became harder to get as banks tightened credit.

Also this spring, the SBA will launch the Small Loan Advantage program. It will allow loans of up to $250,000 too, but by larger, existing SBA lenders, especially banks. There are fewer restrictions under that program on who the loans can go to compared with Community Advantage.

The SBA, which has had a hard time getting banks to make relatively small loans, hopes to attract more lenders by guaranteeing as much as 85% of the loan amount under both programs. By comparison, the existing SBA Express loan program guarantees 50%.