Washington DC – April 11, 2023 – Innovative Lending Platform Association (ILPA) CEO Scott Stewart released the following statement regarding comments on the SBA’s publication of a final rule to lift the moratorium on issuing additional SBLC licenses.
“ILPA applauds the Biden Administration for their commitment to providing the 59% of American small businesses that have unmet funding needs access to affordable credit. Over the past decade, the average SBA 7(a) loan size ballooned to nearly $500,000. In our view that no longer qualifies as small business lending. Our members primarily offer small business financing below $150,000. Issuing new SBLC licenses will substantially decrease the average 7(a) loan size and reach the smallest and most underserved of American small businesses.
“We will help the SBA reclaim its mission, to help America’s smallest of small businesses grow and thrive. FinTech lenders proved during the COVID-19 pandemic that they can reliably reach small businesses that traditional lenders left behind.”
“The SBA’s rule to lift the 40-year-old moratorium on permitting more state and SBA licensed and regulated non-depository small business lenders to originate government-guaranteed 7(a) small business loans has bipartisan, bicameral support in Congress and will substantially increase access to smaller dollar loans to underserved small businesses, unlocking credit to grow their enterprises. We support the modernization of the SBA and 7(a) program and believe the agency is taking a long overdue yet measured approach to making the necessary changes required to improve small business access to capital in underserved communities.”
About ILPA
ILPA is the primary trade organization for online financing and service companies serving small businesses. Members provide hundreds of thousands of small businesses with billions in working capital to purchase inventory, hire additional hands for the busy season, expand the business, or repair damaged or outdated equipment. This capital comes from various financing products, including term loans, lines of credit, purchase of future receivables, and factoring. Our members include Biz2Credit, Bluevine, FundBox, Funding Circle, Lendio, Mulligan Funding, OnDeck, and Equifax Commercial.