Obama to Send TARP Funds to MAIN STREET

[ProSense]

Obama to Send TARP Funds to MAIN STREET

by MeMeMeMeMe

This is a welcome development. If you've grown tired of seeing "too big to fail" institutions getting all the bailout money, there may be a change of strategy in the works:

The Obama administration on Wednesday said it will use leftover funds from the $700 billion financial bailout to help small businesses.

Obama is set to announce the plan today during a visit to a small business in Maryland.

Now you're probably asking, how much of that TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) money is left after bailing out Wall Street?

A report from the TARP’s official watchdog estimated that there is $317 billion left in the program, a sum that includes funds paid back to the government by some banks.

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The White House site adds a bit more detail:

The President’s Announcement will include the following:

1. The Administration will take steps to improve access to credit for small businesses by supporting lending by small banks and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) through the Financial Stability Plan. This new initiative will support small business lending by providing lower-cost capital to small banks that present small business lending plans and to CDFIs that lend to small businesses in the hardest-hit rural and urban areas.
   
   
2. To get small businesses more access to the credit they need to grow and thrive, the Administration will seek legislation to increase the maximum size of three types of Small Business Administration loans. Increasing the maximum loan size of 7(a) loans from $2 million to $5 million will help small businesses invest in machinery, equipment, land, and buildings. Increasing the maximum loan size of 504 loans up to $5.5 million will help small businesses grow and expand their payrolls by supporting real estate purchases. And increasing the maximum loan size of SBA microloans from $35,000 to $50,000 will give a boost to start-ups and other smaller businesses.
   
   
3. The President will call on Treasury Secretary Geithner and SBA Administrator Karen Mills to convene a conference of regulators, Congressional leaders, and small-business owners to establish further steps the government can take to help small businesses access the credit that is so vital to their growth, and to economic prosperity in this country.

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