CDC Small Business Finance Corp. Leads San Diego County in SBA Lending for Fourth Year.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 1999--

For the fourth year in a row, CDC Small Business Finance Corp. again leads all San Diego area lenders in the total number and dollar volume of U.S. Small Business Administration loans, according to recently released figures from the San Diego District Office of the SBA.

In the first nine months of the Federal government's current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 1998, CDC approved SBA 504 loans to 108 small businesses for a total of $40.5 million, more than twice the volume of any other SBA lender in San Diego County. Included in the 108 loans are 23 to minority borrowers, also the highest number in the county.

Businesses approved for the loans expect to retain more than 3,300 jobs and create 990 new jobs in the next two years. According to Kurt Chilcott, CDC president and chief executive officer, Congress authorized the SBA 504 program more than 20 years ago with a clear intent to stimulate local economies through job retention and creation.

CDC has been the number one SBA lender in the SBA's San Diego district since Sept. 30, 1995. The Mission Hills-based company also ranks first among the nearly 300 certified development companies nationwide authorized by the SBA to make government-guaranteed loans.

"Small businesses have found SBA loans as a cost-effective way to get the financing they need to grow," said Chilcott. "And more banks are finding the SBA 504 loan program to be the best product to help small businesses purchase their facilities."

In a typical SBA 504 loan, CDC and a commercial lender work jointly to fund up to 90 percent of the loan amount. The borrower contributes as little as 10 percent down, an arrangement that allows business owners to preserve more cash for general operating expenses.

CDC Small Business Finance Corp. is a not-for-profit company founded in 1978 to promote regional economic development by providing capital to small business owners. In CDC's 21 years of existence, it has funded SBA 504 loans totaling more than $430 million to over 1,300 small businesses, representing more than 50,000 jobs created and retained.