NFIB Proposes Small Business Job Creation Fund

Washington, DC, July 8, 2009--The National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation is recommending the formation of a Small Business Job Creation Fund to improve small business access.

“While small businesses were not central to creating our current financial crisis, they are suffering from the effects of the crisis and will continue to pay for the financial system’s breakdown through higher taxes, lower profits and more expensive and reduced access to credit,” said William Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist.

“As the federal government seeks to reform our financial system to prevent this type of breakdown from happening again, small businesses, which employ roughly half of this country’s private sector employees, deserve a legitimate voice in helping to shape a financial system that will be responsive to the needs of the small business community.”

The Small Business Job Creation Fund would purchase “participations” in pools of small business loans made by participating banks to credit-worthy small businesses.

“The fund would essentially function as a new secondary market for small business loans,” said Dunkelberg.

“Credit-worthy small businesses would have increased options if banks, particularly small banks, could turn to the fund to underwrite a loan.”