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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State Treasurer |
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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State Treasurer |
Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steeman Begins BIG MISSOURI Linked-Deposit Program
To Create Jobs, Help Small Businesses, and Strengthen Missouri Farms and Agriculture
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman today announced the start of the BIG MISSOURI Linked-Deposit Program, an effort she says will make a BIG difference for Missouri and Missourians.
“BIG MISSOURI will help all of our citizens by creating jobs and income, improving business and farming opportunities and giving a helping hand to average Missourians and their dreams,” Steelman said. “BIG stands for believe, invest and grow, and this program is about believing in those dreams, investing for the future and growing in Missouri.”
The Missouri General Assembly authorized the program earlier this year with the passage of SB 270, a measure that increased to $720 million the amount the Treasurer can place in the linked-deposit program, and changed interest rate restrictions to make the program viable in current interest-rate environments.
“The BIG MISSOURI Program will enable small businesses, farmers and other Missouri enterprises to qualify for loans at a rate advantage of as much as 3 percent,” Steelman said. “This can make the needed difference in helping our beginning farmers start in business, our family farmers stay in business and our small businesses create jobs across our state. It can make the difference in turning dreams into reality.”
Under the program, financial institutions take the initial applications from borrowers in specified categories, such as small business, livestock operations or job creation. If the loan is approved by the financial institution, and the borrower qualifies under program regulations and guidelines, a linked-deposit may be placed in the financial institution at a preferred rate. This savings is then passed along, in its entirety, to the borrower.
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The Treasurer’s Office will begin processing applications on Friday, Sept. 30, in the categories of Farming Operations, Beginning Farmer, Agribusiness, Livestock Operations, Small Business, Job Creation, Multi-Family Housing, Drought Relief and Student Loans.
Applications will also be processed for an entirely new category, Eligible Facility Borrowers, which would allow the program to be used to help build alternative fuel facilities, such as ethanol plants.
“BIG MISSOURI can help finance ethanol production plants in our state to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and expand markets for Missouri farm products,” Steelman said. “We need to look no further than the nearest cornfield to see an affordable, environmentally safe alternative to foreign oil.”
Steelman said the program, by its design, is a public-private partnership that creates jobs, helps keep family farms alive, strengthens businesses in Missouri and helps make dreams come true.
“Few programs hold the potential to be so many things to so many people,” Steelman said. “We believe in Missourians, we are ready to invest in their dreams, and together we will grow a bigger and better Missouri.”
Contact: Mark Hughes, director of policy and communications (573) 751-7595
mark.hughes@treasurer.mo.gov.
An electronic version of this release is available at: http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/newsandevents.asp