WASHINGTON, DC- Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that four Pennsylvania community banks received $19 million through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF).
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” said Senator Casey. “I urged Treasury to expedite this funding because it is essential to helping Pennsylvania businesses to grow and create jobs. I am gratified that we were able to make this happen so quickly.”
The Pennsylvania banks receiving funding as part of today’s announcement include:
- Centric Financial Corporation (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) – $7.5 million
- York Traditions Bank (York, Pennsylvania) – $5.1 million
- Phoenix Bancorp, Inc. (Minersville, Pennsylvania) – $3.5 million
- Monument Bank (Doylestown, Pennsylvania) – $3.0 million
There are over 275,000 small businesses in Pennsylvania that employ over 3.2 million people.
The Senator announced the funding on a call with Don Graves, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Small Business at the U.S. Treasury Department. The SBLF was established as part of the Small Business Jobs Act (SBJA) which Senator Casey fought hard to enact and the President signed into law on September 27, 2010. The SBJA encourages community banks to increase their lending to small businesses, helping those companies expand their operations and create new jobs.
“This funding will help break down barriers to credit for small businesses so they can invest, expand, and create new jobs,” said Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios. “Continuing to unlock access to capital for Main Street entrepreneurs is vital to strengthening economic growth and job creation in local communities across our country.”
Small businesses play a critical role in the U.S. economy and are central to growth and job creation. Small businesses employ roughly one-half of all Americans and account for about 60 percent of gross job creation. But small business owners faced disproportionate challenges in the aftermath of the recession and credit crisis, including difficulty accessing capital.
The SBLF helps small businesses meet this challenge by providing capital to community banks that hold under $10 billion in assets. The dividend rate a community bank pays on SBLF funding is reduced as that bank increases its lending to small businesses – providing a strong incentive for new lending to small businesses so they can expand and create jobs.
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