WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that more than $1 billion in low-interest disaster loans has been approved for Florida businesses and residents affected by Hurricane Irma.
SBA made the disaster declaration on Sept.10, 2017, and in less than 100 days, 28,248 disaster loans have been approved in the amount of $1,009,238,100.
Meanwhile, since August 2017, the SBA has approved more than $4 billion in disaster loans to 68,691 homeowners, renters and businesses affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
“I’m proud of our disaster program and how we’ve been able to help so many businesses, homeowners and renters recover from the ferocious 2017 hurricane season,” SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said. “But we’re not done yet. Small businesses and private nonprofit organizations can still apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. These working capital loans just might be the difference between a business being able to keep its operations going or having to shut down for good.”
Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3.305 percent for small businesses and 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the business, type of activity and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
The application deadline for economic injury disaster loans is June 11, 2018.
Free assistance with reconstructing financial records, preparing financial statements and submitting the loan application is available from any of SBA’s partners: Florida Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), SCORE, Women’s Business Centers (WBC), and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
Additional information on the disaster loan program may be obtained by calling SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired) or by sending an email to [email protected].
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to a recovery center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
For more information about SBA recovery assistance, visit www.sba.gov/disaster.
