DIGITIZING A SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION LOAN PROGRAM

Guidehouse is a global consultancy that serves as a Central Servicing Agency for US Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs. Guidehouse engaged a team to analyze the SBA 504 Loan Program, which provides financial assistance to small businesses for major fixed assets that promote business growth and job creation. The team assessed the digital maturity of the program’s end-to-end lifecycle, identified digital gaps, examined the impact of COVID-19 on loan applications, and conducted interviews with stakeholders. It identified benchmarks by comparing the SBA 504 loan process to conventional mortgage loans with advanced digital processes. The team adopted best practices from its research to create a set of recommendations for digitizing the SBA 504 loan program.