Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that application materials for funding under the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) program are now available from the U.S. Treasury.  Eligible banks are able to access application materials online including Forms, Instructions and Fact Sheet at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sb-programs/Pages/Overview-for-CDLFs.aspx. 

The deadline for submitting applications is June 22, 2011.
 
 The SBLF is one of the two programs that provide the tenets of the Small Business Jobs Act (SBJ Act) Congress enacted in 2010.  It will make available low-cost capital to help eligible banks increase lending to small businesses. 

The second program under the SBJ Act is the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which will assist local governments in designing credit access programs for small businesses.

 Based on eligibility criteria posted online, a participant in the SBLF program must:

1. be certified by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) as a CDFI;
2. be exempted from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
3. have at least three years of operating experience;
4. have audited financial statements for the three most recent fiscal years ended, and a clean audit opinion with respect to its audited financial statements for the  most recent fiscal year-end;
5. have total assets not more than $10 billion; and
6. satisfy the financial eligibility criteria.

Participating banks would be charged a dividend rate of 5-percent per annum initially, with reduced rates available if the bank increased its small business lending.  For example, if small business lending increased by 10-percent or more, the dividend rate would be reduced to 1-percent within two years of the capital investment under the program.

“These programs underscore the importance of small businesses to our economy and I am pleased that they are available to banks in American Samoa.  Information received by my office so far suggests that ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank is a potential candidate,” Faleomavaega said.

“Meanwhile, I understand from US Treasury that ASG has already filed a Notice of Intent to Apply for funding under the SSBCI program, from which it is eligible to receive up to $13.5 million.  The final application for the SSBCI program is due on June 27th,” Faleomavaega concluded.