Wyoming seeing a major boom in small business loans

Small businesses in Wyoming are showing strong signs of small business formation and growth.

The number of loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration has grown 94 percent in the last year, and the total value of those loans has risen more than 320 percent to above $39 million, according to the Pinedale Roundup.

“We’re trying to encourage lenders to do smart loans to people who can pay it back but might need a bit of help,” Steve Parker, business development specialist for the Wyoming SBA, told the paper.

Other banking officials told the paper they are awarding a number of loans to entrepreneurs who are strong enough that they don’t need an SBA-guaranteed loan.

The mention of banks lending to small business owners without making them go through the SBA is an encouraging sign for those looking to create a corporation. A recent article in the Enterprise Ledger said that some bankers were telling entrepreneurs to get loan guarantees, even though they would have been approved without them in the past.