The Cleveland District of the Small Business Association says it guaranteed a mere 866 bank loans to Northeast Ohio small businesses in fiscal '09.
That's down from13 hundred loans the previous year. In dollar figures, 50 million less was loaned to area small businesses this year than in 2008.
The decline reflects the freezing up of credit that occurred after the financial collapse in the fall of 2008, and that many charge still persists today because money lent to banks under the Troubled Asset Relief Program was not turned around for lending to businesses.
SBA District Director Gil Goldberg says early in the year he was worried that small business loans would remain stagnant, but that there WAS somewhat of a rebound.
GIL GOLDBERG: "It would worry me if we hadn't reversed the trend. After the president signed the Recovery Act, we saw loan volume rebound significantly, going from 40-60 loans per month to 80-100+ loans a month."
Goldberg says that offers hope for the 2010 business climate, though he doesn't foresee loans equaling 0-8 levels.
Among the top loan originators in Northeast Ohio this year - Cleveland's Key Bank, which was nowhere among the leaders one year ago.
Key increased SBA loans by more than $5 million - to $15 million, second overall in money allocated.
Huntington Bank retained the top spot in number of loans - 200; and dollars allocated; $26 million; but like many banks, that represented about a 40 percent drop from its' 2008 loans.
Goldberg cites increasing loans to manufacturing operations as a sign of strength. Those are accounting for 11% of all business loans.
