The number made in Southern California from April through September rises 50% from the previous six-month period.

After crashing to record lows earlier this year, small-business lending in Southern California may be on the mend, though the number of loans is still down sharply compared with recent years.
Lenders made 2,000 local loans backed by the Small Business Administration from April through September, a 50% increase compared with 1,330 loans made in the first half of the government's fiscal year.
The amount of money lent also climbed about 50%, to $755 million, in the second half of fiscal 2008-09 compared with $500 million in the first half. The rise mirrored a nationwide jump in SBA loans.
Despite the gains, SBA lending has a long way to go. There were 7,000 local loans made in fiscal 2008 and 11,100 in fiscal 2007.
San Francisco-based Bank of the West is on track to make $30 million in small-business loans over the next three months, more than double the volume in the second quarter, said Senior Vice President Don Mercer.
But the bank is tightly targeting certain medical professions that are thriving despite the ups and downs of the economy. “Veterinarians have the No. 1 lowest instance of defaults,” Mercer said. “Closely following on their heels are dentists.”
The bank, with assets of $62 billion, launched its SBA lending program last year after ending its role as a major player in the secondary market for SBA loans.
Alberto Alvarado, director of the SBA's Los Angeles division, said he expected credit for small businesses to continue to loosen.
“We think the upward trend is sustainable,” Alvarado said. “Notwithstanding the terrible aspects of the recession that we've been left with.”
(Source: Latimes.com)