Small Business: Financial Condition of SBA's Business Loan Portfolio Is Improving

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Small Business Administration's (SBA) portfolio of its 7(a) Loan Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible small businesses that cannot borrow at reasonable terms from conventional lenders without government assistance, focusing on: (1) the number and dollar amounts of direct and guaranteed loans in the portfolio; (2) demographic information on loan recipients; (3) the portfolio's performance; and (4) statistics on overall losses to the direct and guaranteed portions of the portfolio, as well as losses incurred by each loan program.