Small-business loans boom in region, L.A. SBA reports

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Small businesses from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara counties benefited from a boost in lending between October and December, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA’s Los Angeles district office reported that the number of loans and the amount of money for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties increased. Loans backed by the government agency jumped 52% to 576 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 from the 378 businesses financed in the same period last year. The dollar volume soared 71% to $285.4 million from $166.9 million last year. The lenders that approved the most SBA loans were Wells Fargo, Beverly Hills-based Excel National Bank, Oakland-based Innovative Bank, Walnut Creek-based Superior Financial Group and San Diego-based CDC Small Business Finance Corp. The agency said that it expects additional funding recently approved by President Obama to support another $4.5 billion in small-business lending nationwide. -- Tiffany Hsu