On April 8, as required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), SBA provided formal notice in the Federal Register (89 FR 24555) that is establishing a Small Business Lending Advisory Council. As described in the notice, the Council will undertake tasks assigned to it by the SBA Administrator, including providing information, advice, and recommendations to the Administrator on matters broadly related to facilitating greater access and availability of capital for small business, especially in underserved communities; providing feedback and input on pending and enacted changes relevant to the small business lending community; cultivating greater public-private engagement, cooperation, and collaboration; developing and/or evolving SBA programs and services to address long-term capital access gaps faced by small businesses and obstacles faced by the lenders that seek to support them.
On the same date, SBA published a second notice in the Federal Register (89 FR 24556) requesting nominations for individuals to serve on the newly created Small Business Lending Advisory Council. That notice indicated that SBA will consider nominations received in response to the notice as well as from other sources, and will select no more than 25 individuals for Council membership. The closing date for submitting nominations is May 10, 2024. Please see the full notice for details regarding the objectives and duties of Council members, Council makeup, nominee qualifications, the application process, and other important information. Questions may be directed to Alejandro Contreras, Acting Director, Office of Financial Assistance ([email protected] or (202) 205-6436).
