Today, I traveled to the Coldstream Research Campus in Lexington, Kentucky and joined Governor Steve Beshear for an event to announce that Treasury has approved Kentucky’s application for State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding. Kentucky is set to receive $15.5 million as part of this important program, which enhances state efforts to get additional capital into the hands of small business owners so they can expand their operations and create new jobs.
The SSBCI is a critical component – along with targeted tax cuts and other measures to spur small business lending – of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Obama signed into law last year. Under the SSBCI, the Treasury Department provides funding for state-run programs that partner with private lenders to increase the amount of credit available to small businesses.
To qualify, states must demonstrate an expectation that each $1 in federal funding will have a “bang for the buck” of $10 in new private lending. So that means that Kentucky’s $15.5 million in SSBCI funding will result in more than $155 million in private sector small business lending. That provides a powerful spark for growth and job creation for Kentucky small businesses.
Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development will implement three new small business programs to facilitate lending to Kentucky’s small businesses: the Kentucky Capital Access Program; the Kentucky Collateral Support Program; and the Kentucky Loan Participation Program.
I look forward to seeing the Cabinet for Economic Development, under Governor Beshear’s leadership, carry out its proposed programs, which will provide access to capital for local small businesses and help provide the necessary loans for them to hire and expand.
Rosie Rios is Treasurer of the United States.
[Photo credit: Office of the Governor of Kentucky]