SBA NEWS RELEASE
Press Office
SBA’s Patriot Express Loan Initiative Delivers Nearly $500 Million to 6,000 Vets and Military Community
Release Date: July 1, 2010
Contact: Dennis Byrne (202) 205-6567
Release Number: 10-38
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – In just three years’ time, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported nearly $500 million in Patriot Express loans to small businesses owned and operated by veterans, reservists and their spouses.

Patriot Express Loans, which can be used to start or expand a small business, increased over the past two years due in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and temporarily eliminated fees for borrowers on all SBA loans. To date more than 6,000 loans have been made.

Patriot Express was launched June 28, 2007, to expand upon the nearly $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses. SBA also offers counseling assistance and procurement support each year to more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard.