Partnership for Small Business Relief Brings on Key Supporters Calling on Congress to Enhance Small Business Administration 504 Loan Program Small business borrowers, top industry trade associations and lenders among hundreds of Partnership supporters

The Partnership for Small Business Relief, a coalition of small business owners, lenders, and certified development organizations (CDCs), announced today that it has garnered support from key industry organizations most affected by the COVID-19 economic fallout, representing thousands of individual small business owners and financial institutions in its campaign to encourage Congress to enhance the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.



Hundreds of supporters representing all 50 states have signed the letter asking Congress to consider enhancements to the SBA 504 Loan Program, including small business borrowers from multiple sectors, CDCs and lenders that specialize in small business loans. Notable supporters include the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), six of the top CDCs in the country by volume, and Pacific Enterprise Bank.



The Partnership says the SBA 504 Loan Program can provide $100 billion in funding to small businesses and is a turnkey solution given its use in the last economic crisis, at no cost to taxpayers.



“The coronavirus pandemic has significantly reduced our occupancy over the past couple of months and being able to tap the equity in our property will prevent us from having to lay off staff members,” said Dipak Patel, a hotel owner in Somerset, Pennsylvania. “The SBA 504 Loan Program would be a huge boost to our business, to take advantage of the increased demand for hotel rooms here when the tourism economy picks back up again.”



“Throughout the years, the SBA 504 Program has assisted thousands of small businesses in the Southeast – helping their communities and the economy flourish,” said Bill Habermeyer, CEO of Florida Development Corporation. “Unfortunately, many of these businesses are at risk of failing, solely due to the pandemic. With some simple adjustments (with no cost to the taxpayer), the 504 Program can help these businesses even more. The proposed adjustments to the program include modernizing refinance regulations and reinstating the First Mortgage Loan Pooling (FMLP) Program. Modernizing the program will make it more available to the businesses in need, and at zero cost to the taxpayer, there can only be positive outcomes. The pandemic has caused such complex problems, and we think these adjustments will allow us to contribute even more to the solution.”



Congress can act to enhance the SBA 504 Refinance Program to allow greater flexibility for modifications of existing 504 loans and reinstate the FMLP Program, which provides an 80% government guarantee on SBA 504 first lien mortgages. These small enhancements will provide much-needed liquidity in the commercial lending marketplace.