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 ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. –-The U.S. Economic Stimulus program has many good elements that will help small businesses but some miss the point, according to Christopher Hurn, chief executive officer of one of the nation’s leading providers of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small business owners. 

Hurn, CEO of Mercantile Capital Corporation based in Altamonte Springs and a popular speaker at banking conferences and seminars who posts his own blog at www.504blog.com, said the U.S. Economic Stimulus program deserves kudos for promising to buy up to $15 billion worth of guaranteed SBA loans. 

Hurn said the stimulus package also eliminates all SBA fees on both SBA 504 loans and the agency’s SBA 7(a) loan program at a cost of $245 million. 

In addition, the administration has announced it will waive capital gains taxes for small business owners who hold or have held their shares for a minimum of five years. 

“Those are positive signs for small business owners,” Hurn said. 

“The Treasury buys in the secondary market will add liquidity to the banking environment and thaw out the secondary market and commercial lending—small business lending,” Hurn explained. 

But, Hurn cautioned, temporarily eliminating fees on SBA loans won’t have much effect on economic stimulation or job growth. 

“Fee elimination, even on a temporary basis, doesn’t impact small business owners that much because these aren’t out-of-pocket fees. These fees are actually financed in the loans, so even though it sounds good rhetorically, I don’t know that it’s going to have much of a stimulative effect,” Hurn said. 

Hurn said the stimulus program fails in some other regards as well. 

“We haven’t addressed any taxation at all,” he said. “There are no new higher tax credits for 2009, which I think would help grow the job base if properly incentivized. There is no mention of a payroll tax holiday for 2009.  That would put more dollars in employees’ and employers’ pockets, and these are the kinds of elements that would have an immediate effect and jump start the economy,” Hurn said. 

For more information, please contactChris Hurn, CEO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040Geof Longstaff, Chairman, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040Shannon D. Marks, COO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Altamonte Springs, Fla./April 15, 2009 – Mercantile Capital Corporation, which ranks as one of the nation’s leading providers of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, closed a commercial loan for Park West Dental on April 2nd, 2009 for $540,000 in total project costs. 

Park West Dental, based in Chicago, emphasizes the prevention of dental problems before they arise and treatment of dental problems in the most conservative manner possible.  They offer cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, and porcelain veneer services, in addition to regular checkups and cleanings.  “My contacts at Mercantile were very knowledgeable and prompt in anything from returning phone calls to addressing my concerns,” said Dr. Akhil Jagadeesh, owner.  Please visit www.34teeth.com for more information.  

The SMARTChoice Commercial Loan Program helps owners of small to mid-sized businesses, like the Park West Dental, have an opportunity to create wealth and financial freedom.  Their specialization in SMARTChoice Commercial Loans, also known as SBA 504’s, allow borrowers, like Dr. Jagadeesh, to own their commercial property with the highest cash-on-cash return financing available, without tying up their precious capital, so they can grow even faster. 

For more information, visit www.504Experts.com and www.504Blog.com.

Contacts:

Chris Hurn, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Robin Lashley, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Mercantile Capital Corporation, (formerly known as Mercantile Commercial Capital, LLC),  the nationwide firm that provides U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, has appointed veteran lender Dwayne Hamner senior credit officer. 

Geof Longstaff, chairman of the firm, said Hamner is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has more than 14 years of experience in the banking industry and more than 10 years in residential real estate development. 

“Dwayne Hamner is one of the brightest lending executives in the southeast and we are delighted to have someone of his experience on board,” said Longstaff. 

For more information contact

Geof Longstaff, Chairman Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Chris Hurn, CEO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Shannon D. Marks, COO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, LLC 407-786-5040

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 

Visit www.504experts.com

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – For Christopher Hurn, CEO of Mercantile Capital Corporation in Altamonte Springs, one thing is clear: the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program for small business owners is the best-kept secret in commercial lending today.

 Hurn recently returned from Dallas, where he was the keynote speaker at the SBA’s 5th Annual 504 Lenders Conference, which drew more than 175 major lenders from across the southwest.

 ”Bankers don’t like to talk about the SBA 504 program even though it’s such a powerful resource for small business owners,” Hurn said. “The loans are a bit more cumbersome to execute, but banks make less money on them than they do on traditional financing programs,” Hurn said. 

The SBA 504 loan program is a powerful economic resource for borrowers, for lenders and for the national economy, Hurn told the group. 

“From the lender’s perspective, from the borrower’s perspective and from the national economy perspective, the SBA 504 lending program is reducing costs, generating jobs and making small businesses more productive, while creating wealth for business owners,” Hurn said. 

SBA 504 loans offer small business owners up to 90 percent financing at substantially reduced rates to develop, acquire, and remodel commercial facilities. 

Mercantile Capital Corporation, formerly Mercantile Commercial Capital, ranks as one of the most active providers of SBA 504 loans in the nation. 

For more information contact: 

Chris Hurn, CEO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Geof Longstaff, Chairman, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Shannon D. Marks, COO, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 

Visit www.theSmartChoiceLoan.com or www.504blog.com for more information.