United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-07-13 monographic deposited born digital 72 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-769 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769 P0b002ee18037724d f:d07769 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769 GAO-07-769 Credit Cost analysis Government guaranteed loans Lending institutions Loan interest rates Minority businesses Performance measures Program evaluation SBA 7(a) Loan Program Small business Small business assistance Small business loans Subsidies Other Written Product A72646

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) 7(a) program, initially established in 1953, provides loan guarantees to small businesses that cannot obtain credit in the conventional lending market. In fiscal year 2006, the program assisted more than 80,000 businesses with loan guarantees of nearly $14 billion. This report examines (1) the program's purpose, based on its legislative history, and performance measures; (2) evidence of constraints, if any, affecting small businesses' access to credit; (3) the types of small businesses served by 7(a) and conventional loans; and (4) differences in SBA's estimates and reestimates of the program's credit subsidy costs. GAO analyzed agency documents, studies on the small business lending market, and data on the characteristics of small business borrowers and loans. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769.pdf GAO-07-769 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-769 Other Written Product GAO-07-769; Small Business Administration: Additional Measures Needed to Assess 7(a) Loan Program's Performance; Credit Cost analysis Government guaranteed loans Lending institutions Loan interest rates Minority businesses Performance measures Program evaluation SBA 7(a) Loan Program Small business Small business assistance Small business loans Subsidies Title 5 Section 306(b) 5 U.S.C. 306(b)