Utah's smaller banks get money for smal..

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Utah's community banks have $126 million in additional lending capital, thanks to the federal Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) established by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a report this week detailing the impact of the SBLF. So far, more than $4 billion has been invested in 332 institutions in more than 3,000 communities and 48 states. In the final quarter of 2011, the SBLF boosted small-business lending by $1.3 billion over the previous quarter.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, small businesses employ about half of the nation's workforce and have created close to 60 percent of America's new jobs. Even so, small businesses felt much of the pain of the recession as they struggled to gain access to credit and capital.

Community banks that hold under $10 billion in assets can qualify to tap the SBLF.

In March of 2011, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) called for the repeal of the SBLF. The organization advocates government spending cuts wherever possible and felt the $30 billion fund was underutilized because it addressed "the wrong problem at the wrong time."

Utah's smaller banks get money for small business