IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Small businesses in the Inland Empire are apparently looking to upgrade.
SBA 504 loans were up 31 percent year-over-year in Riverside and San Bernardino counties for the nine-month period that ended June 30, said Larry Nuffer, spokesman for CDC Small Business Finance in San Diego.
Small businesses in the two-county region took out $329 million worth of SBA 504 loans in that period, which is the first nine months of CDC’s 2016-17 fiscal year. During the first nine months of the previous fiscal year, that number was $251 million.
SBA 504 loans are administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration through local banks and other financial institutions. They’re used specifically to buy land or buildings for expansion, or to purchase large equipment.
“The numbers were a bit of a surprise,” Nuffer said. “They were a little higher than we expected. “I can only guess that it’s because the economy keeps growing. SBA 504 loans are a good investment because they’re set at a fixed rate for 20 years, so I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon.”
In the Inland Empire, wholesalers took out $65 million in SBA 504 loans between October 1 and June 30, followed by hotels and restaurants at $64 million and manufacturers at $49 million.
Statewide, small businesses took out $2.8 billion in SBA Small Business loans for the nine-month period that ended June 30, a year-over-year increase of 18 percent.
CDC has a branch office in Riverside and conducts much of its business in the Inland Empire. It’s one of the largest facilitators of SBA 504 loans in the United States, Nuffer said.
