Fraud Case Sparks Lender Oversight Inquiry
Nov 19th, 2007 | By Dawn Rivers | Category: Podcasts(Note: Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will be no podcast next week. Happy Turkey Day, folks!)
High crimes like fraud and conspiracy aren’t the kinds of things you normally associated with a fairly tame agency like the SBA. That’s what made the BLX case — replete with almost 30 arrests, indictments and sentencing to federal prison — so shocking.
Personally, I think SBA Administrator Preston makes a perfectly valid point when he says that more needs to be done to lender oversight than throwing more bodies at the problem. It doesn’t really matter how many people you hire if the processes and procedures you put into place don’t get the job done.
There is going to be another oversight hearing before the Senate Small Business Committee to look into what kind of progress the agency has made on lender oversight — as well as a few other pending matters, like the Disaster Loan program and the Women’s Procurement Program — in January. And, of course, we’ll be covering that hearing for you when it happens.
It looks like the early holiday shopping season was as tepid as the general October retail numbers — which clocked in at a paltry 0.2%. That is really weak consumer spending, enough to worry some economists of my acquaintance.
Everybody is crossing their fingers, hoping things pick up in decisive ways this month. If you are in retail, let’s hear from you: how is your holiday selling season going so far?
For more information:
Hearing Archive: SBA Lender Oversight: Preventing Loan Fraud and Improving Regulation of Lenders
Business Employment Dynamics: First Quarter 2007
Press Release: Consumers Slow to Start Holiday Shopping, According to NRF Survey
Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: October 2007
The Conference Board: Consumer Confidence Index, October 2007
[tags]SBA lending, loan fraud, job growth, 2008 holiday shopping season, microbusiness[/tags]
