From the article: SBA American Capital Recovery (ARC) Loan for Small Business
Have you had trouble getting an ARC loan? Has the application process been difficult and time-consuming and then you've been turned down anyway? If you've been approved, how did you do it? Were you approved by a local bank or by a large bank? Tell us about your experience! Share Your Experience!
arc loam
- was told we quailified but they just weren't doing them. I got this response from 5 diffrent banks.
- —Guest Tom810
The door is not open
- Maybe this is just a NJ thing but no bank here wants to participate unless you have had an account in the bank PRIOR to the legislation being passed. And unfortunately for me, I bank with Bank of America who is not participating and further says they dont feel like participating because they already paid back their TARP monies and this program is not a profitable one for them to participate in.
- —Guest Jeff
Can't even get past square one
- I have asked four lenders, 3 major and one micro, and no one is in a hurry or very much willing to even try. It is frustrating: all talk and no action!
- —Guest Maria
ARC Loans - lack of SBA response
- 1st onntact was in May 2009 - Aug 1 completed all the forms and submitted - 6 calls no responses via participating bank. No explanations no nothing. Several friends in business have given up. One owner after 5 months received a followup 16 point questionnaire to complete and tossed in the towel. As for me - since 8/1/09 nothing - no reasons no responses - just left hanging. Instead of giving up I contacted my congresman F Jame Sensenbrenner - these people (SBA) are supposed to work for us citizens who support them. Instead this administration says things are "shovel ready" - I have to wonder what they are shoveling - it isn't help its manure they are dumping on us while they sit on their hands and get maid and we wipe out our savings trying to stay ahead of problems.
- —Guest ClassicConncetion USA
ARC,SBA slow goin
- My husband and I applied for the ARC small business loan in July. The paper work was massive. We felt as if we were borrowing half a million dollars, in stead of 35K to help our small business weather this downturn and help cover payroll and operating expences during our off season (winter). We have been "approved" but still not closed . It seems that every week there are more documents needed, many that seem unrelated to getting a loan. WE are really dissappointed because we have now hit our slow season and understand that if the money ever does come through, it will first pay off any line of credit or monies due our "sponser bank", and the money cannot be used to cover operating expences or payroll. This process does not help struggling small businesses, it takes too long, may be too late, and is too restricted.
- —evryoung
ARC Loan Story
- Our company has secured an ARC loan through Wells Fargo. I received the initial “good news” back in August. Here we are in mid-December and we finally closed on our loan today, six months after submitting our application. I was told by the SBA (who called last week to congratulate me)that ours was one of only THREE ARC loans for Wells Fargo to approve for the state of Arizona. I will say that after spending weeks painstakingly putting together all of the application materials, and waiting now over 6 months to actually close this loan, I had begun to wonder if it was all in my imagination! I had to laugh when I heard that the ARC loan was intended to provide emergency relief to struggling corporations. Good grief, if this were a real emergency, the patient would be DEAD! I do not feel that this program has been very efficiently run. It should not take 6 months and a mountain of paperwork to process a small, $35,000 loan! I suspect that because of the overwhelming nature of this p
- —Guest Elease Caracci
One sided handout
- When our government bailed out a mega banks to save our economy. This same banks are turning against our local community based businesses. My experience has been with Key Bank that has received a bailout from Tarp funds. I had acquired about the ARC loan but found out that they were not allowing the funds to pay off credit cards or loans. That was their policy and didn't have to comply with the SBA program. Well that really doesn't help the small business. It looks like all the banks are setting up road blocks to prevent small business from obtaining these loans. This guarantees them higher profits from their credit card business then helping local business. My experience
- —Guest Rich O.
ARC problems
- I've been with Wells Fargo since 1975. Been self employed for 24 years. This is my first bad biz climate. I have a WFB Business line that I cannot payoff right now and ARC (no interest and a 12 month delay in payments) is perfect for the 31K I owe. I just need some breathing room. So I applied did all the paper work. Waited updated paperwork and sent emails. Finally got an email from the person I was dealing with ( after three months) telling me I was approved and they were just waiting for additional paperwork on their end. Two weeks later I followed up and received an email that I was declined. I am now raising hell and dealing with a supervisor. I was told that after being approved based on bank statements and so on, my credit store changed things. It was perfect one years ago and not poor. The ARC program is supposed to be for small businesses in financial turmoil. If I had perfect credit I could get regular financing. I am prepared to go all the way on this one.
- —Guest Mazzy
President
- We were listed on the SBA franchise registry which we paid over $3K to be on. We went to get a loan for ourselves, not as a franchisee, and the bank was ready to go. Unfortunately when it went to the SBA for the stamp of approval, they decided that it need to be looked at whether or not the concept qualified for SBA guaranteed money. This despite already being on their list of pre-approved concepts that we paid $3K to be on. That was over 4 months ago and we still have not received a ruling from the SBA. It has gone from the LA office, to the Washington office, to the legal department, and now finally it is resting on the desk of the director of the SBA, allegedly. All that to say that the bank is ready to lend, but the government is grinding the process to a halt. Did I mention that we have previously done 5 other SBA loans for the same concept, paid off 2 of them, and the other 3 are in great standing. Apparently the President's urging has no impact on the banks or the SBA.
- —Guest Steve G
Viability or just payoffs
- I too, had thought that the ARC loan program looked like a sincere effort to help viable small businesses weather through this tough economic cycle. Come to find out, most banks are offering only a stripped down version of the loan that really only pays on outstanding credit card debt and refuses to assist with rent, payroll and other operating expenses that the SBA had outlined as some of the features of the ARC loan program. It seems that the banks prefer businesses with mass credit card debt over businesses that have smaller debt that may only need a cash flow infusion to support some operating expenses. It sends the wrong message when the headline reads, “Struggling Small Businesses, Pay off your credit card debts with 0% percent government guaranteed loan, ….you other struggling businesses with little debt won’t be eligible for this 0% small business assistance…..unless you go out and run up some credit cards! Another bank bailout stuck to the taxpayers…? ...to bad.
- —Guest Mike C.
