SBA Introduces Significant Enhancements to Disaster Lending Program
Enhanced Support for Disaster Survivors and Small Businesses, Expanded Use of Protective Measures, Deferred Payments, and Interest Waiver
WASHINGTON – In a landmark development, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman has unveiled a comprehensive update to the agency’s disaster lending program, poised to bolster aid to disaster-affected individuals and small enterprises. Effective for all federally declared disasters on or after July 31, 2023, these modifications represent a transformative step in enabling communities to recover, rebuild, and fortify their resilience against an evolving landscape of climate-related challenges.
Administrator Guzman underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to providing optimal resources for disaster survivors, empowering them to rebound and effectively navigate the ramifications of climate change, which have led to a surge in frequent and increasingly costly natural disasters. The recalibrated disaster loan program seeks to offer enhanced flexibility and affordability, ensuring a more accessible lifeline for small businesses, nonprofits, renters, and homeowners. This augmentation facilitates their swift recovery, fostering the renewal of communities to flourish once more.
An Epochal Shift in Home Disaster Loan Limits
Signifying a groundbreaking shift, SBA is doubling the caps for its home disaster loan program, the first such adjustment in nearly three decades. With an astute response to inflation and escalated construction costs, the heightened loan limits stand poised to empower American communities with ample funding to reconstruct homes, replace personal assets, and rejuvenate businesses in the aftermath of catastrophes. As Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation and Acting Associate Administrator for Capital Access, aptly articulated, “Increasing the loan limits ensures that communities across America have access to sufficient funding to help them rebuild homes, replace personal property, and reopen businesses when disasters strike.”
Pioneering Multi-Hazard Mitigation Assistance
The enhanced framework acknowledges the multifaceted threats that communities often encounter, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, and more. SBA’s forward-thinking approach ensures that disaster loan funds can now be utilized to construct more resilient structures that can withstand a spectrum of hazards, transcending the confines of a singular threat.
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