A change to small business loans for immigrants
Marketplace Morning Report
Marketplace
4.5 • 927 Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
The Small Business Administration will no longer allow green card holders to apply for SBA loans. The new policy was announced on Monday and takes effect next month. This program doesn’t lend money directly to businesses; it provides loan guarantees to lenders, and the loans are usually cheaper than traditional borrowing. We learn more. Then, for older people, financial strain may be a warning sign of dementia — before doctors or families start noticing symptoms.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Immigrants are much more likely to start a business in the U.S. than native-born people, but many will no longer be able to get a government business loan. |
| 0:10.0 | I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. The Small Business Administration will no longer allow green cardholders, lawful permanent residents, to apply for its business loans. |
| 0:19.3 | This takes effect next month. Marketplaces Nancy |
| 0:21.8 | Marshall-Genser has details. The Small Business Administration says a popular loan program will now only be |
| 0:28.3 | open to firms owned by U.S. citizens or nationals whose principal residence is in the U.S. or its |
| 0:34.2 | territories. This program doesn't lend money directly to businesses. It provides |
| 0:38.8 | loan guarantees to lenders, and the loans are usually cheaper than traditional borrowing. The new SBA |
| 0:44.7 | policy gets rid of an exception the agency granted just last December. That allowed businesses |
| 0:50.1 | to apply for the loans of up to 5% of their owners were non-citizens or U.S. citizens living abroad. |
| 0:56.8 | Now green card holders with permanent residency will not qualify for these loans. |
| 1:02.1 | The SBA says it's committed to driving economic growth and job creation for American citizens, |
| 1:07.7 | but the Small Business Advocacy Group's small business majority says the new policy will, quote, |
| 1:12.8 | limit the growth of small businesses and jobs throughout the United States, adding that immigrants |
| 1:17.8 | are twice as likely to start a business as native-born Americans. |
| 1:22.0 | I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace. |
| 1:25.1 | Now to the tech stocks losing nearly $300 billion in aggregate value yesterday on the |
| 1:31.1 | realization that artificial intelligence can replace not just human workers but whole business models. |
| 1:37.1 | This after Anthropic released an evolved version of its AI that can follow through on tasks |
| 1:42.4 | like vetting a legal contract or booking a business |
| 1:45.3 | trip start to finish. Stock in companies from Thompson Reuters that helps law firms to Salesforce |
| 1:50.5 | to Expedia travel fell hard yesterday. I spoke to Susan Schmidt, portfolio manager at Exchange |
| 1:56.8 | Capital Resources. We've seen this pressure in software stocks already as AI has increasingly become a focus for |
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