SBA: help for Business: the Small Business Administration is committed to the development and the success of the small-business sector.

• Author: Cox, Frank D.

On May 19-21, the Small Business Administration concludes its 50th anniversary-year celebration with the National Small Business Week Expo in Orlando, Fla. This year, the U.S. SBA, an agency of the United States of America, has undertaken the most extensive re-organization in its history, transforming programs and concentrating resources to more effectively carry out its mission.

Our SBA's mission is to encourage formation and to cultivate support of private enterprise and the small-business owners who help keep America working and competitive in the global market. By providing access to capital, management and technical assistance, and federal contracting opportunities, SBA programs reduce the risk of new business financing and start-up, enhance the prospects for commercial success and broaden the base of those who dare to be independent business owners.

SBA is committed to the development and the success of the small-business sector and is working to increase public awareness of the importance of small-business development and of SBA's role as a government agency.

The SBA's nationwide centralization of financial services is aimed at providing uniform, prompt response to lenders and borrowers, increasing efficiency and effectiveness all around, in government, banks, small businesses and our economy. The Alaska district office has transferred all its loan files to the commercial servicing center in Fresno, Calif., and to the guaranty purchase and liquidation center in Herndon, Va. For the time being, the processing of new loan applications is still being done in the Anchorage office. All other loan-processing operations have been transferred to the service centers. The transition to these new operating procedures should create beneficial impacts in economic expansion, business success rates and jobs creation.

Moving the loan-processing functions to servicing centers frees employees from duplicative, labor-intensive lending operations so they can provide direct assistance to small businesses. The Alaska district office expanded its presence with the addition of two employees to serve in Fairbanks and Juneau, providing greater opportunities to deal firsthand with the needs and concerns of our small business and bank clients.

These improvements in the efficiency and consistency of loan processing, servicing, purchasing and liquidating, make possible faster...