SBA Administrator Steve Preston announced last week new policies, agency positions, operating procedures and forms that will streamline the lending process and improve customer service.

The changes come after a major agencywide evaluation aimed at getting to the root of problems with backlogged small-business and disaster-relief loans.

"The SBA today is working to drive a commitment to service and a goal-oriented culture throughout the agency so that we can continue to set and meet ambitious goals," Preston said, according to a transcript of a meeting of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders from Oct. 25.

Among the major changes are a streamlining of the process for approving disaster relief small-business loans as well as regular small-business loans. The SBA has also created a better organized standard operating procedure for its staff that should speed up processing.

On top of that, the agency has trained hundreds of staffers in processing the loans and has added employees to three of its processing centers as well as employees to help tackle the large backlog in loans.

But the root of the problem for many loans is that the applications were too cumbersome and confusing.

Preston unveiled a new application that he described as simpler and more intuitive.

It converts the old application, which had 45 chapters or tabs, into a shorter ten-tab application.

The agency has also standardized its application review process, re-engineered its processing centers and centralized training to eliminate backlog and develop systems to prevent future backlogs.

The SBA has also put new emphasis on customer service, training employees at all its district offices to provide help to lenders and small business owners who have never before completed a package and creating a customer service center at its headquarters to help clients determine the status of a loan package and give other important information about the process.

"The main reason we have been unable to keep up with the volume of guaranty purchases is that the typical package submitted for our review is incomplete, which requires extensive rework and results in incessant delays," Preston said, noting that half the current backlog is caused by this problem.

He said the new ten-tab form and customer service policies should drastically reduce these problems.

Preston is so confident that this will work, the agency is now guaranteeing that beginning Nov. 1, any properly completed loan application package will be approved within 45 days, including time for minor corrections.

"All of this is part of our efforts to be a responsive, effective partner with a valuable brand promise," Preston said. "You will continue to see initiative to simplify our products and automate our process in an effort to be easier to do business with."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, praised the SBA's promise to improve service and encouraged it to do still more to aid small business development in underserved communities

"Anything that can be done to simplify the process for a small business to get a loan is a step in the right direction," Kerry said in an e-mailed statement.

He also said that his committee is working on legislation to improve loan accesss to minority and rural businesses.

The SBA reported that it increased loans to underserved markets by more than 5.5 percent, infusing more than $7.5 billion in loan money into areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Preston said that more than one third of loans approved go to underserved markets and that loans to this sector are growing faster than the portfolio overall.

For more information on the Small Business Administration, call the Southern Nevada office at 388-6104 or the national number at (800) 827-5722.