BizSugar.com › Raising Capital › Bailout Money Heading To Small Businesses

Small businesses finally are getting their own little piece of the federal government's ballooning bailout package.

U.S. officials announced the federal government as part of a broader package will lend up to $200 billion to institutions that originate consumer loans and business loans backed by the Small Business Administration. The rationale, Secretary Paulson said in a news conference, is it will create liquidity, spurring banks to lend again to consumers and businesses. Some hope it could especially help banks that specialize in offering SBA-backed loans, since such lending has dried up in recent weeks.