President Obama introduced the idea of establishing a $30 billion loan fund to encourage small business lending during his 2010 State of The Union Address.  The program was enacted into law as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and is called the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The Fund encourages lending to small businesses by providing capital to qualified community banks with assets of less than $10 billion.  Through the SBLF, Main Street banks and small businesses can work together to help create jobs and promote economic growth in local communities across the country. This potential tool in the federal arsenal purports to be able to help small businesses address one of the most critical elements in their life cycle - access to capital.  

While the notion of $30 billion from the SBLF program certainly sounds like it would go far in addressing the capital issue for small businesses, some people are asking whether or not the program is actually working, or whether funds are even being requested by those financial institutions that will be responsible for lending them to entrepreneurs.    

To hear some of the current opinions and observations about the SBLF and access to capital in general, tune in to Biz Talk With Josh Smith on Thursday July 14th when Josh's guests will be small business finance expert Rohit Arora, Co-Founder and CEO, Biz2Credit, and 2011 Top Entrepreneur (according to Crain's NY Business); U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) official Grady B. Hedgespeth, Director, Office of Financial Assistance; and Chief Economist at The Gallup Organization,  Dr. Dennis Jacobe. 

Mr. Arora has extensive experience in financial services, as well as the issues facing small and medium businesses (SMBs) across the globe.  Biz2Credit's web platform matches 1.6 million members with 300+ lending institutions based on financial criteria that the small business owners provide.  

Mr. Hedgespeth is responsible for the product and policy development for the SBA's more than $75 billion business lending portfolio. Most of his career has been in the private sector, primarily in financial services. His innovations at SBA include revamping the guaranty purchase process to deliver payments in 30 days or less, and the Recovery Loan Queue.

Dr. Jacobe Dennis Jacobe specializes in the financial services industry, applying more than 20 years of experience working with some of the world's best known financial services firms. The author of several books and many articles, he is a frequent contributor of articles and insights on the U.S. economy. 

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