Friday chamber program looks at small business financing ...

Posted on 22 August 2011.

One of the most pressing issues for small businesses is how to finance their start ups and growth. State officials and local banks will talk about the state?s Access to Capital program for small businesses this Friday, Aug. 26, at the Lake Norman Chamber?s monthly Focus Friday session.

Focus Friday runs 8-10 a.m. at the Lake Norman Chamber offices, 19900 W. Catawba Ave., in Cornelius. DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net are sponsors of Focus Friday.

Rodney Moore

Local banks including Aquesta, BB&T, Blueharbor bank, Citizens South, First Citizens Bank & Trust, and Piedmont Bank will participate in the Capital Access program and are expected to be part of Friday?s session. State Rep. Rodney Moore, D-Charlotte, is also expected to speak, along with Tom Wall, the associate director of the Capital Access program.

Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce president Bill Russell says limited access to capital among local service and retail businesses is an important issue. In addition, some existing businesses, looking for a reprieve from the last three years of the current recession, found it difficult to obtain loans from financial institutions, he said. Banks, facing stricter regulations and more conservative loan requirements, have been reluctant to take risks and make investments needed to jump-start area businesses, Mr. Russell said.

Mr. Russell met with state legislators this spring to discuss this and other issues facing the business community. In one meeting, Rep. Moore encouraged Russell to contact the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center to learn more about its new North Carolina Capital Access Program, a loan program for small businesses. By reducing risk, CAP encourages banks and other qualified lenders to consider loans that otherwise fall just outside conventional underwriting standards. To date, 56 banks have enrolled in the program including many with branches in the Lake Norman/Charlotte area.

According to Mr. Russell, the program?s simple design is fashioned after an earlier, successful CAP program, which ran from 1994 to 2007. The program will enable up to $800 million in business lending over the next several years, freeing capital in a tight credit market. NC-CAP is made possible by $46.1 million in federal funding under the federal Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. Gov. Beverly Perdue designated the Rural Center to administer the program in all 100 counties

While the meeting is aimed at Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce small businesses, the Chamber is allowing any interested business to attend and participate. There is no charge for the program. For more information on the CAP program call the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce at 704-892-1922.

CMS CHIEF TO ADDRESS CHAMBER SEPT. 15

Hugh Hattabaugh, who replaced Dr. Peter Gorman as Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools superintendent this summer, will speak at a Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce PowerLuncheon on Education, Thursday, Sept. 15. The lunch is 11:45 to 1:30 pm at Kabuto at Lake Norman, 16516 Northcross Drive, Huntersville. Mr. Hattabaugh has been CMS chief operating officer since 2008. He is the interim superintendent while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

The public is invited to attend the luncheon. RSVP by calling the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce at 704-892-1922. The cost is $20 for non-members and $16 for Lake Norman Chamber members.

Source: http://davidsonnews.net/2011/08/22/friday-chamber-program-looks-at-small-business-financing/

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