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- By Brian Edwards
- Finance
The U.S. Department of the Treasury confirmed Thursday that the State Small Business Credit Initiative program will continue through March 11, 2028, resolving uncertainty over a potential deadline change that tribal advocates warned could disrupt tribal lending programs.
The updated guidance comes nearly a week after the NAFOA raised concerns the Treasury was potentially moving the expenditure deadline from October 2026 to November 2025. In a Treasury email sent yesterday, the agency clarified it will not accelerate the expenditure deadline, allowing tribal governments and other participating jurisdictions to continue deploying funds under the original timeline.
However, the Treasury established Dec. 31, 2027, as the final deadline for jurisdictions to submit disbursement requests. The agency said it does not expect to process requests submitted after that date, as its statutory authority to administer the program terminates on March 11, 2028.
The clarification comes after NAFOA warned in an Oct. 24 policy bulletin that an accelerated deadline could have "severe consequences" for tribal governments that received SSBCI funding. Many tribal programs have spent only 20% to 30% of their initial funding as they build lending systems and identify small businesses to support, according to NAFOA President Rodney Butler.
More than $523 million in SSBCI capital was allocated to 235 tribal governments under the 2021 American Rescue Plan.
Treasury's updated guidance also clarified termination provisions for jurisdictions that fail to meet deployment requirements. The agency will terminate second and third tranche funding for jurisdictions that do not expend, obligate or transfer at least 80% of their first tranche within three years of executing their allocation agreement.
Treasury will host a conference call for participating jurisdictions on Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
