Several Illinois Community Banks Receive $37.9 Million to Help Small Businesses

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that six additional Illinois community banks received a total of $37.9 million as part of the next wave of funding provided through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The SBLF, which was established as part of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Obama signed into law, encourages community banks to increase their lending to small businesses, helping those companies expand their operations and create new jobs.     

The Illinois community banks receiving funding as part of today’s announcement include the following.

  * First Community Financial Corporation (Elgin, Illinois)—$6.1 million
  * First Eldorado Bancshares, Inc. (Eldorado, Illinois)—$3.0 million
  * First Bankshares Trustshares, Inc. (Quincy, Illinois)—$10.0 million
  * Merchants and Manufacturers Bank Corporation (Joliet, Illinois)—$6.8 million
  * Town and Country Financial Corporation (Springfield, Illinois)—$5.0 million
  * Community First Bancorp, Inc. (Fairview Heights, Illinois)—$7.0 million

Small businesses play a critical role in the U.S. economy and are central to growth and job creation. Small businesses employ roughly one-half of all Americans and account for about 60 percent of gross job creation. But small business owners faced disproportionate challenges in the aftermath of the recession and credit crisis, including difficulty accessing capital.

The SBLF helps small businesses meet this challenge by providing capital to community banks that hold under $10 billion in assets. The dividend rate a community bank pays on SBLF funding is reduced as that bank increases its lending to small businesses – providing a strong incentive for new lending to small businesses so they can expand and create jobs.

The SBLF is one part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive agenda to help small businesses access the capital they need to invest and hire. The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which is also a key part of the Small Business Jobs Act, allocates $1.5 billion to new and existing state programs that will leverage private financing to spur $15 billion in new lending to small businesses and small manufacturers.

The Obama Administration has also supported 17 direct tax breaks that provide tax relief of more than $50 billion for small businesses. These tax breaks were designed to support job creation and retention, entrepreneurship, investment, and growth. The Administration has also worked with Congress to extend and expand existing Small Business Administration loan programs that helped put more than $42 billion in the hands of small businesses and deliver other important benefits to help small businesses expand and hire.