More Lending for Small Businesses Stuck in Coronavirus Limbo
The head of Pursuit, which annually makes hundreds of affordable loans to small businesses, offers advice on accessing financing.
Community development financial institutions are a special breed of lender. They offer affordable loans and clear guidance to businesses that can’t get either from conventional banks. Many business owners dealing with the ripple effects of the pandemic could benefit from CDFIs but aren’t aware they exist. Pat MacKrell runs a big one called Pursuit, which serves businesses in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The 65-year-old organization has three arms that collectively make hundreds of loans annually, for anywhere from $10,000 to $5.5 million. Those include loans it makes through the Small Business Administration’s 504 and 7(a) programs; it has processed about 7,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans since the program launched in March. (Pursuit’s application deadline for PPP was July 31; if the program is extended beyond the SBA’s Aug. 8 deadline, Pursuit is taking applications here.) The president and chief executive officer of the 140-employee Albany, N.Y.-based organization spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek about persevering under difficult circumstances. This interview has been edited.
How worried should we be about the pandemic’s effects on small businesses today?