Calling small businesses the engine of the state's economy, Gov. Bev Perdue touted a new state program yesterday aimed at making it easier for such businesses to get much-needed loans.
During a stop at the Kingz Downtown Market on Liberty Street, Perdue said that many small-business owners are finding it hard to get credit in the sour economy.
The small-business lending initiative, part of the state's JobsNOW program, is a way to help them.
"It's a partnership between our North Carolina banks and between credit unions and between our small-business owners across the state," Perdue said at the market at 418 N. Liberty St. during a news conference.
As part of the program, state officials are trying to get more banks to participate in federally backed loan programs, including Small Business Administration loan programs.
Perdue said that a series of "banker boot camps" will be held throughout the state over the next six months, coaching loan officers and community banks on how to take advantage of SBA loans.
The state will also help small businesses apply for loans.
"Sixty percent of small-business loans are turned down because the applications are not strong enough," Perdue said.
Perdue, who also spoke yesterday at a luncheon given by the Reynolda Rotary Club at Joel Coliseum, said she has already started her own lobbying efforts in Washington to ease the small-business credit crisis.
She said she has met with SBA officials and urged Congress and President Obama to take action on items such as extending no-fee SBA loans, setting aside a $30 billion capital reserve for community banks and expanding the size of SBA loans.
Kel Landis, a former head of RBC Centura in North Carolina, will be the chairman of a leadership steering committee to support the new small-business lending program. Scott Daugherty, North Carolina's Small Business Commissioner, will coordinate the state's efforts for the initiative.
Landis said that the state has all the ingredients to help small businesses, including "the finest banks" and a willing partner in the federal government.
But, he said, there is also a need for the private sector to get involved, including investors, citizens and business people.
"We want small businesses to ask for help," Landis said. "We need small businesses to think creatively about new ways to make a living."
Skip Brown, the chairman of the N.C. Bankers Association and the president of the Triad Region of First Community Bancshares Inc., thanked Perdue for announcing the initiative in downtown Winston-Salem.
"We have a great downtown," he said. "I think this is an exciting day, a very important day for small businesses in North Carolina."
Keith King, who opened Kingz Downtown Market in 2007, said that his business has come a long way. He credited the City of Winston-Salem and the SBA partly for his success.
He hinted his desire to open more stores as he joked with Perdue.
"Maybe I can come down to Raleigh and put a grocery store in downtown Raleigh," he said.
King said after the press conference that he received a $40,000 loan from the city of Winston-Salem to help start his business and a $12,000 SBA loan to purchase his initial inventory.
He declined to give exact sales but said that his business increased 35 percent to 40 percent in 2009 compared with 2008.
"It's been growing tremendously every month," he said.
fdaniel@wsjournal.com | 727-7366
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