Yesterday the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation held a forum on small business lending. In response to the forum and a need to make credit available to small businesses, the FDIC has released a new hotline for businesses to call for help.
“A combination of factors have created issues and challenges for small businesses, but it is turning in terms of credit availability. I think it is going to get better, and we’re working to facilitate that with the dialogue this conference will spark along with our new hotline and website dedicated to small businesses,” said FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair.
The small business hotline went live today and is operational Monday thru Friday, 8am to 8pm, Eastern Standard Time. As part of the kickoff of the hotline, it will be open this weekend only, 9am to 5pm, Eastern Standard Time. The toll-free number is 1-855-FDIC-BIZ (1-855-334-2249). To complement the new small business hotline, the FDIC also created a dedicated Web site for small businesses to utilize.
Screenshot from FDIC Small Business Lending