Additional Funding Announced to Support Small Business in N.C.


RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that North Carolina received $15.2 million in its second round of funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) that makes capital available for small businesses throughout North Carolina.  

The SSBCI program, an important component of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Obama signed into law in 2010, funds the North Carolina Capital Access Program (NC-CAP), the North Carolina Loan Participation Program (NC-LPP) and the North Carolina Fund of Funds Program. These programs work primarily through traditional lenders, such as banks and credit unions, by reducing the risks to lenders and allowing lenders to approve some business loans they otherwise could not. Gov. Perdue designated the NC Rural Economic Development Center to administer the program in all 100 counties.

Small businesses are a critical component of our economic landscape,” said Gov. Perdue. “Access to capital is one of the most important things needed for these small companies to grow and prosper. This funding will help promote economic growth in our communities.”  

North Carolina’s use of the SSBCI funds has already helped create and retain more than 3,500 jobs and spur more than $100 million in additional lending to small businesses. Every $1 in federal funding leverages at least $10 in new private lending. As such, this tranche of $15.2 million will generate more than $152 million of additional private financing for small businesses throughout North Carolina.

During the first round of funding North Carolina made 260 loans and investments. Sixty lenders across the state are participating in the NC Capital Access Program with an average loan of $122,000. Twenty eight lenders are participating in the NC Loan Participation Program with an average loan of $1.2 million. Participating lenders are located in 98 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, and loans have been made in 45 counties, both rural and urban, with a special emphasis on low to moderate income communities.

In addition to for-profit businesses, loans are available to charitable, religious, and non-profit institutions for business purposes. Loans have been made to a wide range of borrowers, ranging from manufacturing plants, distribution centers, medical practices, retail and service businesses to non-profit daycares and charter schools.

Under the Small Business Jobs Act, North Carolina will access a total of $46.1 million in SSBCI funds through three equal rounds of funding. The North Carolina programs are expected to enable more than $600 million in business loans and equity investments by 2016.

For more information about the national SSBCI program, please visit the U.S. Treasury website at www.treasury.gov. North Carolina businesses can find more information about the statewide programs that may help them at the NC Rural Center’s website, www.ncruralcenter.org.