CDA loans post modest growth

Approved loans and bank guarantees reported by the Commonwealth Development Authority in the first five months of fiscal year 2001 registered a flat growth from the same period last year.

From October 2000 to February 2001, CDA gave the green light to loans and bank guarantees that amounted to $390,500. In the same period in fiscal year 2000, the government agency’s list of approved loans and bank guarantees totaled $389,900.

The difference between totals for the two periods equate to a modest .01 percent rise in approved loans and bank guarantees from CDA.

The figure is significant because the increase in loans and bank guarantees made by the CDA could be a sign that more individuals and even companies are applying and investing in the Commonwealth.

For an economy in dire straits for the past two and a half years due to the 1997 Asian economic contagion, any appreciation, even in approved loan and bank guarantees, can be considered a good sign, officials said.

In a table on approved loans and bank guarantees submitted by CDA as of March 28, 2001, only a single application was cleared to acquire a large loan. The $250,000-loan and bank guarantee application of Joseph W. and Marilyn P. Jones was approved by CDA last November 22, 2000.

The balance of approved loans and bank guarantees made by CDA in the first five months of the fiscal year fell into the category of the agency’s Microloan program.

A total of $140,500 of loans and bank guarantees were farmed out to seven individuals and companies in the first five months of fiscal year 2001.

During the same period last year, CDA extended $177,000 worth of microloans and bank guarantees. It also approved $212,000 to small businesses.

The CDA Microloan Program is financing for small business. It was designed especially for “non-traditional” borrowers who may not fit typical banking guidelines due to the small size of their request, to limited credit history or business experience.

Under the CDA Microloan Program, the agency could extend loans ranging from $100 to a maximum of $35,000. According to CDA, the average loans and bank guarantee package sought by applicants is about $15,000.

For the whole of fiscal year 2000, CDA approved more than $1.4 million in loans and bank guarantees to the Commonwealth.