SBA Pledges to Help Latino Firms Get $40 Million in Loans

Small Business Administration chief Aida Alvarez signed an agreement Wednesday with the Latin Business Assn. pledging to channel at least $40 million a year in additional loans to local Latino companies.

The agreement, signed at the Los Angeles-area business group’s third annual business expo, calls for the federal agency to provide a host of additional services to association members, including one-on-one lending counseling.

It also calls on the association to refer at least 20 Latino businesses a year to the agency’s 8(a) program, which assists them in obtaining federal contracts.

SBA officials have signed more than 60 such agreements nationwide with community-based women and minority business organizations, part of a pledge by Alvarez to dramatically increase lending to those groups. The agreement with the Latin Business Assn. was the first in the Los Angeles area.

The expo drew more than 2,000 registrants--an indication that the Latino organization can serve as a gateway to the region’s burgeoning Latino business community, Alvarez said.