SBA Business Loans for Veterans in New Jersey

It's great when Small Business Administration loans work just like they should, like with SBA business loans for veterans.

New Jersey has been part of the vanguard in this new service, with great results.

It doesn't matter what branch of the service you served in. It doesn't matter what rank you attained. If you served as part of the United States forces at any time, you are now eligible for discounted business loans in New Jersey.

As of June 2006, eight New Jersey community banks agreed to offer loan discounts to former service members at the urging of the Small Business Administration's New Jersey District Office.

The federal SBA, which guarantees a portion of business loans made by private banks, helps many borrowers who might otherwise have a difficult time securing credit. The SBA encourages participating banks to reach out to blacks, Hispanic Americans, Asian-Americans, women and veterans. And while SBA loans to minorities have risen in New Jersey over the years, loans to veterans have declined recently.

The benefit varies from bank to bank, and at this time none of the larger banks are participating in the program. So head on over to some of the smaller banks in New Jersey for the SBA business loans for veterans: Lakeland Bank in Oak Ridge, First Washington State, New Millennium Bank, Skylands Community Bank, Somerset Valley Bank and The Bank of Woodbury.

The discount offers vary from bank to bank. One bank is offering a choice of a one-percentage-point rate cut or a waiver of the loan guaranty fee, which is 2 percent of the loan amount on smaller loans and is typically paid by the bank to the SBA, and passed on to the customer.

Another bank is offering SBA loans to veterans at its prime rate, currently 8 percent, instead of the usual 2.5 percentage points above prime.

It's a great perk for our veterans. The SBA business loans for veterans should have been put in place decades ago. I am glad that it is there now.