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As a Preferred SBA Lender, Gilmore Bank is positively committed to keeping our small business personnel on top of the latest information and news pertaining to Government Guaranteed Loans. As a result, I had the good fortune to attend the 29th SBA Lending Technical Conference in St. Louis, April 30th through May 2nd, sponsored by the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL). The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, one block from the famous St. Louis Arch. It was a great opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and information with some of the 650+ participant banks and CDC’s.
The conference featured general sessions conducted by members of the SBA office of Capital Access, NAGGL legislative Affairs and the SBA Senior Executive staff, including Jeanne Hulit and Patrick Kelley. Ms Hulit was appointed associate administrator of the Office of Capital Access in late 2011. Mr. Kelley is the deputy associate administrator of the SBA’s Office of Capital Access. The Office of Capital Access has made tremendous strides over the past year in areas of risk management, microloan programs, credit risk management, financial programs and operational centers. They have likewise helped the SBA increase lending to over $30 billion to over 193,000 small businesses!
The conference agenda was packed with a great deal of information that explored the radically slimmed-down servicing and liquidation standard, the operating procedures (SOP) and its impact on lenders practices, including the recommendation to estimate guarantee purchase repairs and new guidance on environment risk management during liquidation. There were critical updates to and the simplification of changes of ownership and other processing policies, sessions on understanding lien perfection and lien priorities, discussion on the agencies focus on smaller loans, roundtables including views from the secondary market and sharing of best practices in outreach to understand markets. Then there was news about a new inter-agency approach to meet financing and expansion into global marketplaces and congressional and legislative news surrounding the federal FY 2014 budget.
The conference featured key note addresses by NAGGL’s chief executive officer Tony Wilkinson, the Government Lobbyist for NAGGL, Thomas Cantor ... and Thomas Powers, who has served on the Democratic staff of the House Small Business Committee form 1971 to 1998. Powers drafted or participated in drafting almost all of SBA legislation (including financial, management and procurement assistance) and the authorizations for three White House conferences n Small Business authorizations and small business procurement assistance. Powers is an attorney and consultant for NAGGL.
There were several informative and forward looking breakout sessions. The most highly attended and informative breakout sessions included:
There were over 60 sponsored exhibitor booths that included the secondary market, CDC Capital Markets, Nationwide Evaluations and The Preston Group.
Of course, the conference always plans for fun and networking and this year was no different. The first, night all the participants attended a St. Louis Cardinals game which they won. There was also a game night that showcased all the exhibitors and both nights were highlighted with a reception and brief introductions of the NAGGL staff.
Call me anytime you have questions regarding an SBA loan for your business!
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