Ami Kassar says “Applying for an SBA loan should be hard, but Congress doesn’t seem to understand that: “Congress needs to recognize that there’s already a massive industry that offers financing to any business owner enticed by quick cash and a simple application process.”

“Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I find there are rarely enough hours in the day, but EO helped make me a more complete person. And I want to make time to help others have the same experience.”

“If we have learned anything from the lessons of SVB in the last few weeks, it’s that outliers in the lending system create all kinds of problems that ripple throughout the economy.”

“At the end of 2022, the 25 biggest banks in the country held 63 percent of all deposits, but only 28 percent of all small business loans, and 13 percent of all SBA loans.”

“One question worth asking, What could bring your company to its knees? In our case, a rule changes about how SBA brokers work with lenders could cripples us.”

“Even before the collapse of SVB, the big banks hardly served the interest of small businesses and entrepreneurs. If their power is consolidated, this will get worse, not better.”

“Somehow, SVB managed to play under a different set of rules than other FDIC banks. They managed to push the envelope and get away with making loans that 99% of banks would never touch.”