Emergency Loans Set a Record in 1994 : Business: The state’s lending agency speedily procured more than $21 million from local lenders for 282 businesses damaged in the Northridge earthquake.

The rocking and rolling that shook up the Valley last January kept officials hopping at the California Trade and Commerce Agency, where end-of-the-year tallies show they arranged for a record-breaking number of loans to keep small businesses afloat in the aftermath of the quake.

Administering the state’s Emergency Loan Guarantee Program, the agency procured more than $21 million in low-interest loans for 282 small and mid-size businesses suffering quake damage.

“This by far is the most successful disaster loan program that we’ve had,” said Mike Marando of the Trade and Commerce Agency. “Since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, the Oakland fires and the Dunsmuir oil spill, 282 businesses is by far the most that we have helped.”

The agency’s quick response was good news for the Life Alert Emergency Response Co., now of Sherman Oaks, a home security company. The firm relies on computers to monitor their clients’ homes, and many of those computers were damaged or lost data because of the quake.

While a federal Small Business Administration loan can take more than two months to process, Marando said, Life Alert had its $158,000 state loan in just 10 days.

“I think they processed our loan quicker than we expected, especially considering everything that they had to go through,” said Life Alert comptroller Pat Storgaard. “I was amazed myself.”

Marando cited Dukes, Inc., a Northridge manufacturer of aircraft parts, as another success story.

The company’s roof collapsed, crushing machinery and inventory, and throwing the firm off track for months. But after applying for a $200,000 state loan in April, it was up and running again by June.

“The companies that applied and acted quickly and did damage assessments were the real winners in this,” said Marando. Dukes got its loan at a 6% rate and paid it off when SBA funds came through in June.

Most importantly, said Marando, the jobs of Dukes’ 104 workers were protected.

“The more money that we loan out, the less chance of layoff and the less chance that businesses will fail,” he said. “The smaller the company, the more impact a disaster like this is going to have. It’s a job-retention vehicle as much as it is a bridge mechanism.”

Three development corporations--Pacific Coast Regional Development Corp., California Coastal Development Corp. and Hancock Regional Development Corp.--guarantee the loans for local lenders, who take 75% of the interest income from the loans. The remainder of the interest funds the agency.

Normally, the loans are paid off once SBA funds become available.

The Emergency Loan Guarantee Program has a 2% default rate, Marando said. The state is liable for 90% of the loan, up to $200,000.

Applications for the interim loans are still rolling into the agency and will be accepted until Jan. 31, Marando said. Applicants normally apply for their SBA loan first and then come to Trade and Commerce for interim funds.

Currently, interest rates for the emergency loans are set at about 6.75%.