Submitting an application to the Small Business Lending Fund is easy. Here you will find what you need to know about how to apply, including what documents and information you will need to provide. You will also learn where to submit an application, as well as how applications will be processed and evaluated.
For general inquiries and questions, please call the Small Business Lending Fund information line at 888-832-1147 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-7:00 PM ET).
For communications pertaining to a specific institution, please email SBLFInstitutions@treasury.gov, a Treasury email address.
How the Application Process Works
If your institution is eligible and wants to apply to participate in the Small Business Lending Fund, it must submit a completed application to Treasury at SBLFApps@treasury.gov.
The application deadline for C Corporation banks is May 16, 2011. Treasury encourages eligible institutions to submit their application as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for processing.
The application deadline for Subchapter S corporations and mutual institutions is June 6, 2011. Separate terms apply for Subchapter S corporations and mutual institutions. For information specific to these institutions, please refer to Overview for Subchapter S Corporations and Mutual Institutions.
The application form and instructions on how to prepare it can be downloaded by clicking on Application Form & Instructions.
Submitting an application does not obligate your institution to participate in the Small Business Lending Fund if approved. Your institution may withdraw its application at any time prior to entering into a definitive agreement with Treasury. Additionally, after your institution has received SBLF funding, it may exit the Small Business Lending Fund at any time simply by repaying the funding provided along with any accrued dividends (with the approval of its regulator).
Please note that if your institution wants to apply to participate in the Small Business Lending Fund, in addition to submitting an application to Treasury, it must submit a small business lending plan of approximately two pages in length to its primary federal regulator and to its state regulator, if applicable. If your institution is a holding company, it must also submit the lending plan to the primary federal regulator (and state regulator, if applicable) of each of its insured depository institution subsidiaries. The lending plan should not be sent directly to Treasury. (Your institution’s federal regulator will forward it to Treasury.)
What Should Be in the Small Business Lending Plan
Each lending plan should:
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Address the needs of small businesses
The lending plan should describe how your institution intends to use funding from the Small Business Lending Fund to address the needs of small businesses in the communities it serves. Your institution should provide a description of the basis for its lending goals and how it intends to achieve these goals.
The lending plan should explain why the projected increase in small business lending is reasonable in the context of the size of your institution and the market it serves. To the extent practicable, the lending plan should include a description of the types of loans anticipated and customers served. -
Specify the projected increase in small business lending
The lending plan should include the increase in qualified small business lending (as defined in the Fund’s summary of terms) that your institution expects to achieve two years after the investment. It is acceptable to provide a projected range.
While this projection should be based upon your institution’s estimate of qualified small business lending, your institution does not need to formally calculate such lending at the time of application. Each bank will be required to calculate such lending only as part of the closing process, after receiving preliminary approval for participation in the Fund. Prior to closing, your institution will be asked to revalidate the projection provided in this lending plan on the basis of its formal calculation of qualified small business lending.
The lending plan is not intended to be an official business plan in the sense of those submitted to your institution’s primary federal regulator. As a result, Treasury does not require the submission of a pro forma income statement or balance sheet. -
Provide for community outreach
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 requires banks participating in the Small Business Lending Fund to provide linguistically-appropriate outreach and advertising describing the availability and application process for receiving small business loans.
Your institution should submit its lending plan to its regulator(s) at the same time it submits its Small Business Lending Fund application to Treasury.
Guidance, including instructions for submitting the lending plan to the appropriate regulators, and a form for an applicant’s lending plan submission can be found by clicking on the Lending Plan Form & Guide. Again, please note that the lending plan should not be sent to Treasury.
How Treasury Will Evaluate Applications
Treasury will coordinate with the federal bank regulatory agencies and (as applicable) state regulatory agencies to review your institution’s application. Specifically, Treasury will consult with the federal banking agencies in determining whether your institution is qualified to receive capital from the Small Business Lending Fund. If your institution is a state-chartered bank, Treasury also will consider the views of your state banking regulator regarding the financial condition of your bank.
Treasury will notify your institution of its decision as one of the following three options:
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Preliminary approval
After reviewing the application, Treasury may determine that your institution is eligible for and qualified to participate in the Small Business Lending Fund. If your institution elects to continue with the process, it should inform Treasury and Treasury will assign a law firm as its representative to work with your institution to complete the closing and funding processes. -
Preliminary approval contingent on matched funding
As a result of its review of the application, Treasury may determine that your institution is eligible and should be considered for participation in the Small Business Lending Fund, provided it raises separate matching funds from private, nongovernmental sources. Such matched funding will need to be received either prior to or concurrent with Treasury’s SBLF funding. (Generally, capital raised after September 27, 2010, may be included.) If your institution would like to continue with the process, it should inform Treasury and Treasury will assign a law firm as its representative to work with your institution to complete the closing and funding processes. -
Considered withdrawn
Following its review of the application, Treasury may determine that your institution is not eligible or otherwise will not qualify for participation in the Small Business Lending Fund. In such a case, your institution’s application will be considered withdrawn.
The Closing Process
The closing process for institutions that decide to proceed after receiving either a “preliminary approval” or a “preliminary approval contingent on matched funding” determination includes working with a law firm representing Treasury to enter into a Letter Agreement and a Securities Purchase Agreement with Treasury.
As explained in Chapter Three of the comprehensive Getting Started Guide for Community Banks (click to download the PDF), an institution that participates in the Small Business Lending Fund is required to submit an Initial Supplemental Report and regular Quarterly Supplemental Reports, which will be used for measuring changes in Qualified Small Business Lending. The Initial Supplemental Report is due before closing. If the closing date occurs after the Call Report is due in a calendar quarter, the first regular Quarterly Supplemental Report is also due at or before closing. Please refer to the Getting Started Guide for more details about reporting requirements, as well as where to locate instructions on how to fill out the reports.
Requirements for Raising Separate Matching Funds
If your institution is required to raise matching funds as a condition for receiving SBLF funding, the following requirements apply:
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Treasury will notify your institution of the amount of private funds it must raise to qualify for SBLF funding. The required private investment will be at least equal to the amount of proposed SBLF funding;
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The maximum amount of SBLF funding provided will equal 3% of your institution’s risk-weighted assets;
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The source of the private investment must not be any institution that has received or applied to receive capital from the Small Business Lending Fund; and
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The private investment must be subordinate to the SBLF capital and carry terms satisfactory to Treasury (although Treasury may approve a dividend rate for the private investment that is higher than the SBLF rate).
In determining eligibility for matched funding, Treasury will consider as matching funds any capital raised after September 27, 2010, net of subsequent dividends, repurchases, and redemptions.