Hawaii SBA
hit record for loans,
dollars in fiscal ’03
The Hawaii district office of the federal Small Business Administration hit a record in the total number of loans it backed and the dollar volume for fiscal 2003. The local SBA office backed 299 loans for a total of about $45 million in the year that ended June 30. In the previous fiscal year, the Hawaii SBA office backed 184 loans worth a total of $35.5 million.
The Hawaii office, headed by Andrew Poepoe, was in the top 10 nationally in districts that exceeded their goals.
SBA loans are actually guarantees against loans that first must be approved by commercial lenders. When a lender, such as a bank, has a client it likes but considers a little too risky, it can get SBA backing for the loan, which means longer terms and lower monthly payments than would apply to a non-guaranteed commercial loan.
Poepoe said the default rate among Hawaii SBA-backed loans is about 1 percent, in line with the national average for SBA loans. Many of the loans in Hawaii are to minorities, a category that includes Asians and Pacific Islanders. Entrepreneurs of Asian descent, such as Japanese or Chinese, can qualify for minority status no matter how many generations they have been in Hawaii.
