MIDWAY — The sun will come out after this economic storm, and until then, small businesses — dubbed the backbone of the economy — have access to more offerings to keep them going, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration said at a Tuesday conference here.

"These are interesting times, they are challenging times, and they are scary times," said Sandy K. Baruah, acting administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, a government agency aimed at helping Americans start, build and grow small businesses. "But our period of slow growth that is ahead of us will be followed by some pretty impressive economic growth."

Baruah was speaking at the Western tri-region conference for the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO), the trade association for the nation's Certified Development Companies, which are nonprofits working with the administration to finance small businesses. There are 270 nationwide.

The government's $700 billion rescue plan will put $250 billion in capital into financial institutions, on the belief every dollar put into them can result in $10 in lending, and gives banks incentives to buy back the shares within 5 years. The plan raised FDIC insurance to up to $250,000 and expands insurance to non-interest-bearing accounts mainly used by small businesses for short-term financing.

The Federal Reserve for a time will be the buyer of last resort for commercial paper. And the government will buy mortgage-backed securities at a low price, hold them until the price comes back up, and then sell them.

Baruah says most of the plan is not yet in place, but confidence already is starting to come back, seen in some small LIBOR and long-term Treasury rates' turnarounds.

Meanwhile, Baruah said, the Small Business Administration is not tightening lending standards and instead is expanding outreach and programs, which generally offer low rates and small down payments for capital loans.

For more information on offerings, visit sba.gov, ask your local bank or credit union, or check Utah's two certified development companies' Web sites at www .mwsbf.com or www.utahcdc .com.

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