$225M Emergency Loan Program Authorized For Small Biz

A $255 million emergency-loan program was authorized this week as part of the economic recovery bill, and Congress gave the Small Business Administration just 15 days to issue guidelines for the brand-new program called the Business Stabilization Program.

The initiative will offer loans of up to $35,000 that are essentially interest-free. The loans will only be available to companies that already have bank-issued business loans—Congress wants the emergency-loan money to be used to pay interest and pay down principal on existing debt.

These loans can be used to make payments for up to six months, and repayment is deferred for a year. Businesses do have to fully repay the stabilization loan within five years, however.

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CNNMoney: SBA Readies Emergency Biz Loans Program