Less than a year after it began operating, the Certified Development Company affiliated with the San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation has approved more than $7.4 million dollars in small business loans and is expecting to rank among the top 25 out of 134 CDCs in the Los Angeles SBA District, which includes Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

So far, the San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation’s CDC, has approved 11 loans as part of the SBA 504 loan program, which allows small business owners to purchase an industrial or commercial building at below-market interest rates with a minimum of ten percent down payment or equity injection. The program serves as a long-term financing tool for Economic development within a community.

“The tremendous success of the SBA 504 program is one of those shimmers of hope we hear so much about in these challenging economic times, giving small businesses and the local economy the support to prosper,” said Ray Vasquez, SFV-FDC Board Chairman.

“The San Fernando Valley continues to have a vibrant business community with entities like Community Development Corporations, micro-lenders and banks investing capital for commercial purchases and other critical business needs.”

In its first year, the CDC, which began operations in October of 2008, will have played a crucial role in the distribution of more than $18.4 million to assist small business owners in the Los Angeles Region.

The SBA 504 loan program is structured so that a private lender makes a loan to the borrower in the first deed lien position for 50 percent of the total project. CDC issues a loan in the second trust deed lien position for 40 percent of the total project. The borrower contributes 10 percent.