SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers Open in Geneva, Covington and Houston Counties

ATLANTA--(Business Wire)--
The U.S. Small Business Administration announces today the opening of three
Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs) in Alabama. The locations of the Centers
will make it convenient for disaster victims affected by the severe storms,
flooding and tornadoes that occurred from March 25 - April 3, 2009 to apply for
disaster loan assistance. The establishment of the Centers demonstrates SBA`s
commitment to ensure that every qualified individual and business receives the
help they need to recover from this disaster.

"Assisting individuals and business owners to recover from a disaster is our
primary mission," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center
East. "We are encouraging anyone affected by this disaster to visit a Center
while we still have staff here and obtain individual assistance with completing
their loan applications from our representatives."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also will be represented at each
DLOC. Individual assistance specialists will be able to help people check the
status or review their registration for disaster assistance and discuss grant
information. Mitigation advisors will be able to provide information for
eligible mitigation measures for repairing or rebuilding storm-damaged
buildings. Disaster survivors may call the Helpline for more information at
1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585.

The locations of the Centers are as follows:

SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers(DLOCs)

Geneva County Covington County Houston County
Geneva County Courthouse Covington County EMA Office Houston County Courthouse
200 North Commerce 300 West Watson 114 North Oates Street
Geneva, AL 36340 Andalusia, AL 36240 Dothan, AL 36303
Opens Wednesday, May 20 Opens Wednesday, May 20 Opens Thursday, May 21
Open Monday-Friday; Open Monday-Friday; Open Monday-Friday;
8:00 AM to 4:30 PM 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM

(closed May 25 for Memorial Day)
(closed May 25 for Memorial Day)
(closed May 25 for Memorial Day)

Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or
destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to
repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. Businesses of any size
and non-profit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace
damaged or destroyed real estate, inventory, machinery and equipment. The SBA
can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that
protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in
the future.

For small businesses and private non-profit organization of all sizes, the SBA
offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to help meet working capital needs
caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the
business suffered any property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.187 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4.0
percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set
by the SBA and are based on each applicant`s financial condition.

Anyone unable to visit one of the Centers may obtain information and loan
applications by calling the SBA`s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (or
1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9
p.m. EDT, or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Applications may also be downloaded from www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance
and returned to one of the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort
Worth, Texas, 76155.

Additionally, victims may apply for disaster loans on SBA`s secure website at
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is June
30, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 1,
2010.

For more information about the SBA`s Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website
at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Release Number: 09-413, AL 11736/11737

U.S. Small Business Administration
Mark Ihenacho, 404-331-0333

Copyright Business Wire 2009