May 13, 2008 — The Patriot Express loan initiative from the Small Business Administration (SBA) is up and running and available to help military families start or build a small business.
Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, service members leaving active duty, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of these groups, spouses of active duty members, a widowed spouse of a service member who died during service, or of a service-connected disability.
In the 10 months since its launch, Patriot Express, a streamlined loan product with enhanced guaranty and interest-rate characteristics, has produced 1,304 guaranteed loans amounting to more than $135 million, with an average loan amount of nearly $104,000. Nearly 15 percent of those loans have gone to military spouses.
The Patriot Express initiative builds on the more than $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses, and the counseling assistance and procurement support it provides each year to more than 100,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and Reserve members.
Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000 up to $500,000. For loans above $350,000, lenders are required to secure all available collateral to back the loan and may obtain collateral for smaller loans depending upon individual bank requirements.
The Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative can be used for most business purposes. Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress. After loan applications are approved by the bank, they are submitted to SBA for approval. Most applications are approved by SBA within 24 hours.
Source: Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov
