Capital Access Program

The Capital Access Program (CAP) is one of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) innovative programs available to assist businesses with capital needs. It uses small amounts of public resources to generate private bank financing, providing small Michigan businesses access to bank financing that might not otherwise be available.

The program was originally designed and implemented in 1986 and ran through 2002. During that time, more than 9,700 Michigan businesses received financing under CAP. The $21 million in public/state/MEDC/MSF resources that were committed to the program supported approximately $550 million in bank lending - a private-public ratio of 26 to 1.

Today's legislature has asked the MEDC/MSF to re-establish the CAP in an effort to assist small businesses in meeting their financing needs. The program can be used to finance most types of business (with the exceptions of construction, renovation, purchase of residential or rental housing, or rental property) and there are no restrictions on loan size or terms.

Participating banks throughout Michigan offer the Capital Access Program directly to companies that need credit enhancement. Similar to a loan loss reserve fund, the bank, the company, and the MEDC pay a small premium into a reserve that makes it possible for the company to receive fixed asset and working capital financing.

	Direct Bank-Business Transaction Loans under CAP are private transactions between bank and borrower MEDC plays no role in the bank's decision to make the loan or in setting its terms The bank assumes the risk of the loan Flexible, Non-Bureaucratic CAP loans can be long- or short term, term loan, or line of credit The bank has the flexibility to recast, extend, or refinance the loan to address the needs of the business owner. Eligible Borrowers CAP loans are available to most businesses located in Michigan that satisfy the banks criteria Capital Access Program Fact Sheet -- MEDC's website (file size 130k)

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