Mountain West Small Business Finance

Mountain West Small Business Finance is a private, non-profit corporation licensed and regulated by the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is a Certified Development Company, which means it administers the SBA's 504 Development Company Loan Program, working alongside a bank or credit union and the business owner rather than lending alone.

A 504 project splits three ways: 50% from the bank or credit union in first lien position, 40% from Mountain West in second position, and 10% from the borrower. Building loans are fixed-rate and fully amortised over 10, 20, or 25 years; equipment loans run 10 or 20 years, with the term tied to the useful life of the equipment. A startup, or a special-purpose building, raises the down payment to 15%, and a startup buying a special-purpose building to 20%. Refinancing of owner-occupied commercial real estate is available, including cash-out against building equity for working capital, and existing equity in the building or land can count toward the down payment. A separate working capital loan program starts at $50,000.

Mountain West was created as an initiative of the state's Office of Economic Development in 1980 to support existing local small businesses, and works with lending institutions, community economic development agencies, and business owners. It operates from Salt Lake City, Orem, and St. George, Utah, with a Wyoming contact number, and says its 504 program covers Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and surrounding states. Since inception it reports lending to thousands of small businesses totalling well over one billion dollars. It also runs entrepreneurial education programs.

Current 10, 20, and 25-year debenture rates are posted on the home page, and the bank's first-position loan is priced separately, so a borrower should confirm both. The home page and the products page also give different ceilings for the working capital program, which is worth checking before relying on either figure.