Are SBA Loans Really Growing Like Gangbusters?

A recent Growthink blog post titled “SBA Loans Are Growing like Gangbusters” included reference to SBA administrator Karen Mills’ statement that average weekly SBA loan approvals have gone up 86 percent since the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act became law. Similarly, an SBA fact sheet reported that “From Feb. 17, 2009 to Apr. 16, 2010, weekly SBA loan dollar volumes rose more than 90 percent in the 7(a) and 504 programs, compared to the weekly average before passage.” These numbers give the impression that the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act has put a lot of SBA loans in the hands of America’s small business owners. But how do loan volumes compare to anything other than the nadir of a frozen small business credit market in late 2008 and early 2009?" Click Here to View SBA Loan Graph