Fisher favors more small-business loans

A 64 percent plunge in loans to Youngstown small businesses since 2006 is one reason why a candidate for an Ohio U.S. Senate seat is proposing a plan to help small employers weather the recession and prepare for a recovery.

''It is extremely important to focus on what I believe to be the single most important economic issue facing the nation and Ohio, and that is focus on small businesses,'' Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher said Wednesday in a phone conference.

Also Wednesday, Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. announced it will loosen its loan requirements and add bankers in an effort to double its annual small-business lending over the next three years.

The bank, which serves the Trumbull County area from its Youngstown regional headquarters, said it made 992 loans nationwide for $141 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, ranking it seventh overall.

The bank, which plans to hire 150 bankers, said it was the top Small Business Administration lender for 7(a) loans in Ohio and West Virginia.

''Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing more than half of the U.S. work force and accounting for nearly 65 percent of all new jobs created,'' Frank Hierro, Mahoning Valley regional president, said.

Fisher, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Republican Sen. George Voinovich, cited a study done by his staff of SBA 7(a) and 504 loans that are made by private banks but backed by the federal government.

The study found that the loans, which help bankroll startup costs and investments that create jobs, are down nearly 34 percent across Ohio to $400 million in 2009 from $604 million in 2006.

Federally guaranteed loans made to Youngstown small businesses tumbled to $4 million last year from $11 million in 2006.

Acknowledging lack of loan demand during the sharp business contraction, Fisher noted the Bush Administration cut the SBA by 40 percent, while increasing fees and rewarding companies for shifting jobs overseas.

He added banks have toughened requirements for small businesses to get loans, even as many Wall Street lenders received taxpayer bailouts and pay large bonuses to executives.

Fisher, who in January heard from Warren coffee wholesaler Jordan Filippidis about his inability to get loans to expand his Top Shelf company, proposed a new job creation tax credit that he said would help create 5 million jobs nationally over two years.

He also proposed cutting red tape to help entrepreneurs get loans faster, as well as improving openness on Wall Street to make sure the economy doesn't suffer the same problems.