IFA Statement on Resignation of SBA Administrator Karen Mills

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

mhaller@franchise.org

jweisbord@franchise.org


IFA STATEMENT ON RESIGNATION OF SBA ADMINISTRATOR KAREN MILLS


WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2013 — International Franchise Association President & CEO Steve Caldeira released the following statement today regarding the White House announcement that Small Business Administrator Karen Mills is stepping down.


“Karen Mills has provided outstanding leadership and stewardship of the SBA the past four years. Without question she has been a bright light within the Obama Administration and the elevation of the SBA to Cabinet-level status last year is clearly a testament to the agency’s effectiveness under her tenure. The SBA has, and continues to be, a great partner of the IFA and the franchising community, and we are truly grateful for her dedicated service.


“When small business lending in the commercial sector dried-up during the recession, Karen worked tirelessly to boost access to capital for prospective and existing franchisees through the SBA’s extremely successful 7a and 504 loan programs. She was also instrumental in permanently boosting loan limits to $5 million and temporarily increasing loan guarantee levels to 90 percent as part of the Small Business Jobs Act in 2010.


“Given the direct correlation between access to capital and job creation and the amount of loan volume franchise businesses have historically done with these programs, they were a lifeline to the franchising industry and helped our members emerge stronger from the recession. We wish Karen and her family all the best moving forward and she will clearly be missed.”


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About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

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