SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available

The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (or working capital loan program) is now accepting applications. These loans are available to the following –

• small businesses
• small agricultural cooperatives
• small aquaculture businesses
• most private non-profit organizations
• This includes:
• Businesses directly affected by the disaster
• Businesses that offer services directly related to the businesses in the declaration
• Other businesses indirectly related to the industries likely to be harmed by losses in their community (for example a manufacturer of widgets may be eligible as well as the wholesaler and retailer of the product)
• Criteria for loan approval includes:
• Credit history – applicant must have a credit history acceptable to SBA
• Repayment – SBA will determine whether the applicant business has the ability to repay the SBA loan
• Applicant business must be physically located in a declared county (Roanoke has been declared) and suffered working capital losses due to the declared disaster, not due to a downturn in the economy or other reasons
• Borrowing:
• Eligible applicants may qualify for loans up to $2 million
• Interest rates are 3.75 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years
• Eligibility for these loans are based on the size (must be a small business) and type of business and its financial resources
• Loans my be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other obligations that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred – loans are not intended to replace lost sales/profits or for expansion
• Collateral is required for loans over $25,000 – SBA accepts real estate as collateral; they do not decline a loan for lack of collateral, but require borrowers to pledge what is available

TO LEARN MORE, ACCESSTHE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources