A small business investment company (SBIC) is a venture capital firm licensed and regulated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides debt and equity financing to small businesses. [4] The SBA can provide various types of financial assistance such as guaranteeing the debt portion of the SBIC investments, allowing them to leverage private capital.
A bank is authorized to purchase SBIC stock provided that the aggregate amount of such investments does not exceed 5 percent of the bank’s capital and surplus. The bank’s receipt and retention of a dividend from an SBIC in the form of stock of a corporate borrower of the SBIC is not a purchase of stock within the meaning of 12 USC 24(Seventh). (See 12 CFR 7.1015.)
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