$25,000 Awardee – Financing
Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, and providing loans to small businesses in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, Business Carolina (BCI) was selected to receive the Financing award for its substantial growth in financing and its leveraging of financing capital. BCI utilizes an active secondary market for its SBA 7(a)-guaranteed loans in order to maximize the economic impact of each dollar of capital that it lends. Through the sale of the guaranteed portion of each loan, BCI is able to recoup up to 90% of the original principal balance of the loan, plus a typical 5–7% premium. Through leveraging each loan dollar in this manner, BCI can fund up to $10 million in loans for each $1 million of capital lent. BCI has substantially grown its financing from $13.5 million in FY 2007 to $18.1 million in FY 2008 to $35.1 million in FY 2009.