Policy

Taxpayers On the Hook for $1.3B in Bad Government-Backed Loans to Businesses

Money won't burn itself, you know

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Lax federal oversight dating back years allowed lenders to repeatedly make bad loans to small businesses under a government program that has cost taxpayers $1.3 billion since 2000 on defaulted loans, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.

Some borrowers in the Small Business Administration's largest federally guaranteed loan program defaulted so quickly they paid nothing on the loan, the investigation found. Operators of national franchises like Quiznos and Cold Stone Creamery collectively received millions of dollars in loans through the program despite extensive default histories by the franchises.