“Obama pushes loans for small firms (Chicago Tribune)” plus 3 more |
- Obama pushes loans for small firms (Chicago Tribune)
- HSBC treads cautiously on unsecured loans (Express India)
- Federal SBA loans available to victims of recent flooding (L'Observateur)
- Obama proposes $30 billion allocation for small-business loans (Washington Post)
| Obama pushes loans for small firms (Chicago Tribune) Posted: 02 Feb 2010 07:23 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. WASHINGTON - — President Barack Obama went on the road Tuesday to promote a new proposal that would take $30 billion repaid by bailed-out Wall Street institutions and use it to fund community bank loans to small firms. The proposal seeks to ease the unusually tight credit that many small businesses have experienced since the recession — and that is seen as a major barrier in hiring. It comes on the heels of an Obama plan announced last week to give up to $5,000 in tax credits to companies for every new worker they employ this year. Both proposals would require congressional action and are part of the president's shift in focus to small businesses in a bid to fire up America's dormant job machine, as well as his political standing. "We're going to start where most new jobs do — with small businesses," Obama said at a town hall in Nashua, N.H., repeating a statement he made in the State of the Union address. "This will help small banks do even more of what our economy needs — ensure that small businesses are once again the engine of job growth in America." Small businesses typically have led the economy in job creation coming out of recessions. This time around, many of them have been reluctant to add workers in the face of weak sales, uncertainties about the economic recovery and future legislation, not to mention the difficulties of obtaining financing in the wake of the deep financial crisis. The credit constraint was underscored in a Federal Reserve survey released Monday showing that, although banks have largely stopped tightening lending standards, those institutions raising hurdles for borrowers were more apt to do so for small businesses than big firms. The Fed's quarterly survey of senior loan officers also found that smaller banks, which lend mostly to smaller firms, were more likely to toughen standards. Banks have blamed some of the tightening of lending standards on stronger pressures from regulators after the credit binge earlier this decade. But the financing situation for small businesses has been particularly acute in part because many of them own property, and in the aftermath of the real estate bust, they lost a key collateral for loans. Moreover, many self-employed people rely on home equity loans and personal credit cards to support their businesses — and those credit lines have been slashed in the last year. Small-business experts said that a greater flow of credit, like payroll tax credits, will certainly help, but that won't be enough for many firms that are struggling because of anemic sales. William Dunkelberg, an economist for the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business lobbying group, said his surveys of employers suggest that poor sales are the top reason most are not hiring. "It's purely the lack of sales," said Phil Kenny, owner of Trucks Unique Inc., a 13-employee firm in Albuquerque, N.M., that modifies commercial trucks. Kenny said he sees some faint signs that business conditions are improving, but added he won't begin to hire more workers until the outlook becomes clearer. "There's a lot of anxiety among customers and business owners," he said. In addition to the economy, "the uncertainty with respect to what's going to be happening with taxes, health care and everything else, that's caused anxiety. So you stand still and wait to see what happens." Small businesses can expect more support. The House of Representatives last fall passed a $44 billion bill that would boost the cap on federal loan-guarantee programs available through the Small Business Administration. With money from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed a year ago, the SBA has helped more than 42,000 companies obtain loans — about 13,600 of them new businesses, said Jonathan Swain, an SBA assistant administrator. Senate Democrats also are expected soon to unveil their own job-creation proposals. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that would include a job-creation tax credit, funding for infrastructure projects, tax breaks for small business and an expansion of federal bonds to subsidize state and local construction. Reid said the Senate likely would pursue Obama's "cash for caulkers" proposal to provide incentives for people to weatherize homes. While the House late last year passed a single comprehensive jobs bill, Reid said the Senate would be acting on a series of measures. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., agreed with populist criticisms that small businesses haven't received as much attention as big firms, such as General Motors or Citigroup. "I think over the last year that probably describes who's been getting the most face time with the president's economic advisers," said Courtney, who has been pushing for emergency direct federal loans to entrepreneurs. "We have to allow people to chase their dreams and create new enterprises that will get us out of this downturn." Obama's shift to small businesses is part of his renewed focus on job growth amid deep public anxiety about the double-digit unemployment. The jobless rate is widely expected to inch up in the coming months, and it looms as a huge liability for Democrats in the mid-term elections in November. Obama's poll numbers have plummeted over the past year as he worked to pass a health care plan that many Americans viewed as a peripheral concern. Alarmed by the Republican pick-up in Massachusetts, the White House has been trying to cast Obama as a feisty warrior for an anxious middle class.
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| HSBC treads cautiously on unsecured loans (Express India) Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:38 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Mahalakshmi Hariharan Posted: Thursday, Feb 04, 2010 at 2147 hrs IST Updated: Thursday, Feb 04, 2010 at 2147 hrs IST Mumbai: With losses of over $150 million in its retail lending business in 2008, HSBC Bank is not taking too many chances with its unsecured loans portfolio. We have started being very cautious on our unsecured lending, especially credit cards and personal loans, where we will be selective, said Rajnish Bahl, head (personal financial services) at HSBC Bank, adding that for credit cards only the premium and mid-affluent segments would be targetted. The size of the retail book, approximately at $2 billion, is divided more or less equally between secured and unsecured loans. The book shrank by about 20 % in 2009, but Bahl expects secured loan book grow 25-30 % this year. He said the bank would focus closely on growing mortgage segment. HSBCs financial results for 2009 are expected next month. Since the global crisis gripped the banking industry, Bahl said HSBC saw its credit card issuances drop to 1.5-1.6 million from 3 million about two years ago. During the crises, multiple cards were issued to the same person and cash flows became tight. Hence, we are seeing to it that the losses are very minimal. We are issuing only premium and platinum cards now, he said. HSBC at present has about 15-16 lakh credit card customers and about 45,000-50,000 customers in the home loan segment. The bank exited its auto loan business about 4-5 years ago. Currently, of the total retail portfolio, about 60-65% is in the form of secured lending. Bahl said the bank is currently disbursing home loans worth Rs 100-150 crore every month since interest rates have become affordable and property prices have corrected. The average home loan ticket size is about Rs 20-25 lakh and and we hope to lend about Rs 10,000-15,000 crore over the next 12-15 months, said Bahl. HSBC has roped in Cibil to check credibility of customers. The bank is looking to beef up the retail team, which currently comprises 3,500 people, and plans to hire 300-400 more this year. HSBC also plans to earn more from the distribution of products. Last month, HSBC widened its footprint by opening three new branches in India, taking the total number to 50. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Federal SBA loans available to victims of recent flooding (L'Observateur) Posted: 03 Feb 2010 07:12 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The L'Observateur is not liable for messages from third parties.
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| Obama proposes $30 billion allocation for small-business loans (Washington Post) Posted: 02 Feb 2010 03:00 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. The warning from Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, highlighted the basic problem that has stymied past government efforts to send aid through the banking system to the broader economy. The government wants to give money to healthy banks that are best positioned to increase lending, but most of those banks don't want federal aid. Many weaker banks are eager for aid, but helping them is less likely to spur new lending. The administration's latest attempt to square that circle is a proposal to offer money with few strings attached, at annual interest rates as low as 1 percent, to lure stronger banks. The administration is considering whether to include weaker banks, said a senior official who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. President Obama touted the idea Tuesday in Nashua, N.H., as he seeks to reclaim public support for his economic agenda. "This will help small banks do even more of what our economy needs -- and that's ensure that small businesses are once again the engine of job growth in America," Obama said. On Capitol Hill, the proposal, which would require legislation, got a frosty reception from some Democrats and Republicans. Senate Republicans said the plan would increase the deficit. They said the money, which would come from the $700 billion that Congress allocated in fall 2008 to rescue the financial industry under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, should instead remain unspent. "The money recouped from the TARP shall be paid into the general funds of the Treasury for the reduction of the public debt. It's not a piggy bank," Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said during a hearing on the administration's proposed budget. "That's not what this money is for." Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner strongly defended the proposal at a separate hearing. "If we do not succeed in repairing the damage caused by this crisis, if we don't succeed in getting growth back on track, having a growing economy again with businesses confident, we will not be helping our long-term deficits. They will be worse," he said. The president first introduced the proposal during last week's State of the Union address as part of a package of measures aimed at increasing employment. Small banks would be offered up to $300 million at a 5 percent interest rate. If the bank increased lending by at least 10 percent over two years, the interest rate could fall to 1 percent. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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