Another Day in the Rick Scott Economy: Small-Business Lending Rebounds in South Florida

The Miami Herald reports that South Florida's business community is experiencing a rebound in the number of loan approvals.

Lenders are expressing a greater interest than they have in the past few years in terms of meeting the needs of the small-business community, Marjorie Weber, Miami-Dade Chapter Chair of SCORE, which helps business owners put loan packages together and refers them to bankers, tells the Herald.

According to the article, "[d]uring the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, [Small Business Administration]-guaranteed loans were up in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to the SBA. In fiscal 2012, 449 loans were approved in Miami-Dade, totaling $213.3 million, up from 426 loans for $154.4 million in 2011. In Broward, 262 loans for $91.4 million were approved in fiscal 2012, compared to 257 loans for $102.4 million in 2011."

Were seeing some really good numbers this year --were up for the first quarter, both in loan numbers and dollars, over last year in our district, said Jonel Hein, the SBAs deputy district director, whose region includes 24 counties south of Orlando. We find it as an indication that the recovery is still continuing. The more we see loans increasing, whether dollar amounts or the number of loans, its a positive sign for South Florida.