by David Gerogosian, PEF Services
On December 18, 2012, The House of Representatives passed a bill to allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide to Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) up to $350 MM in leverage. Previously, the SBA was limited to providing up to $225 MM in leverage. Due to the structure of the program, SBICs need multiple licenses to reach the maximum leverage. The SBIC Program was created to help small-businesses gains access to capital by supplementing the flow of private-equity capital and long-term loan funds. The Bill was passed with strong bi-partisan support.