A new, in-depth Dayton Daily News investigation found that defaults on the Small Business Administration's largest federally guaranteed loan program, known as the 7(a) program, "cost taxpayers $1.3 billion since 2000." The investigation determined that years of "lax federal oversight," including the use of inflated real estate values and a failure to adhere to SBA standards, allowed lenders to make bad loans to franchises with "extensive default histories." From 1990 to February 2013, the 7(a) program – which is designed to "provide capital for small businesses, including those owned by minorities and women, that have had trouble getting conventional loans" – had a one-in-five failure rate for the nine-county Dayton region. For more, read the full story.
Defaulting Small Business Administration loans have cost taxpayers $1.3 billion since 2000
