Small Business Administration: Credit Subsidy Estimates for the Sections 7(a) and 504 Business Loan Programs

GAO discussed the Small Business Administration's (SBA) estimates of credit subsidies for the agency's guaranteed business loan and certified development company programs-more commonly called the "7(a)"and "504" programs, respectively, focusing on: (1) how SBA calculates the estimates of credit subsidies for the 7(a) and 504 programs; (2) what factors accounted for the increases in the estimated cost of the loans to be guaranteed by these programs in fiscal year FY 1997; and (3) what additional changes, if any, SBA made during the 1998 budget process when estimating the costs of its loans.