According to a press release on U.S. Rep. Richard Baker’s, R-Baton Rouge, website he has “introduced legislation to improve GO Loans for small businesses in or relocating to the counties and parishes declared major disaster areas.” The GO Loans are offering “maximum loans of $150,000 backed by an 85 percent SBA guarantee with the goal to process the loan application in one day.”
There have been some slight hitches in the pilot program due to “perceived limits in the loan sizes and rates as well as problems of bureaucratic inefficiencies.” In order to improve upon the initial program and streamline the process Baker has proposed the following changes”
- Making the program permanent before its expiration in November;
- Allowing SBA approved lenders to process SBA disaster loans;
- Increasing the maximum loan amount to $3 million from $150,000 and allowing up to 25 years to maturity;
- Allowing more flexibility for the banks on the rates they can charge;
- Allowing SBA to establish an online application process and to work with the lenders on streamlining the applications; and
- Allowing qualified lenders to use their own documentation, if already approved by the SBA Administrator.
What are your feelings on the proposed changes to the SBA program?
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