Low-interest loan program launched for businesses rebuilding from Sandy

The New York Bankers Association (NYBA) and New York Business Development Corp. are setting up a $10 million emergency loan fund for small businesses recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

Small businesses in Downstate counties designated as disaster areas will be eligible for the fund, which will offer low-interest loans of up to $25,000. The loans are set to be interest free and payment free for six months, then move to 1 percent interest rates for the next two years.

The New York Business Development Corp. will manage the loan program along with Empire State Development. The business development corporation is a consortium of banks backing economic development and job growth in the state with government-guaranteed and conventional loans for small businesses.

The NYBA is a group of commercial banks and thrift institutions with aggregate assets of more than $10 trillion. Its members include a number of banks operating in Central New York, such as Adirondack Bank, Alliance Bank, the Bank of Utica, Berkshire Bank, Fulton Savings Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, NBT Bank, Oneida Savings Bank, PathFinder Bank, Solvay Bank, Tompkins Financial Corp., Watertown Savings Bank, and First Niagara Bank.

“Making it easy for small businesses to do great things is what we’re about every day at First Niagara,” First Niagara President and CEO John Koelmel said in a news release.  “Therefore, we’re very proud to partner with the governor and our fellow bankers to ensure that local businesses are able to rebuild and recover even faster from the devastation of this storm.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com