Our nation’s veterans have served our country proudly and bravely.  They are true American heroes, and we must make sure that we’re doing everything possible to support them, once they re-enter civilian life.

That’s why starting January 1, 2014 and for the rest of the fiscal year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has set the borrower upfront guaranty fee to zero, for all veteran loans approved during that timeframe under the SBA Express program, which supports loans of up to $350,000.  That’s right, the guaranty fee is zero.

This program, called SBA’s Veterans Advantage, is available to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans; active-duty military participating in the Transition Assistance Program; reservists; National Guard members; or their spouses or the widowed spouses of service members or veterans, who died during service or as a result of service-related disabilities.

Our research shows that of all SBA loans that go to veteran–owned businesses, 73 percent are $350,000 and below.  The SBA Express Loan Program, which supports loans up to $350,000, is SBA’s most popular loan delivery method, with nearly 60 percent of all 7(a) loans over the past decade being approved through the program. Since the program’s inception, it has also been one of the most popular delivery methods for getting capital into the hands of veteran–owned businesses.

Our nation’s veterans are highly-skilled and highly-trained leaders in their communities, and so it makes sense that after serving their country, veterans would become entrepreneurs and small business owners.

We look forward to continuing to reach out to them through our 68 field offices across the country, including the Seattle District Office at 206-553-7310, the Boise District Office at 208-334-9004, the Portland District Office at 503-326-2682, the Alaska District Office at 907-271-4002 or the Veteran Business Outreach Center at 206-324-4330.