MOBUCK$ low-interest loan program shuts down after six hours
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Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek visits the Farmington Regional Chamber Office in November to share information and spread awareness about the MOBUCK$ low-interest loan program for farmers and small business owners. Lisa Brotherton-Barnes
Due to the high demand for MOBUCK$ loans
Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek announced that demand for new MOBUCK$ loans was so great on the first business day of 2024 that all available funding was exhausted within six hours.
As a result, the MOBUCK$ application portal was shut down after less than a single day. The application portal had been closed since last May when MOBUCK$ deposits reached the statutory limit. Due to the extraordinary demand on the first day, Treasurer Malek again urged state lawmakers to expand the popular and successful program that is geared toward providing relief from soaring interest rates.
“In only six hours on Tuesday, we received 142 applications for just over $119 million in MOBUCK$ funds that became available with the start of the new year,” Malek said. “That consumed all available loan capacity. Still, I am grateful that farmers, small businesses, and providers of much-needed multi-family housing were able to take advantage of the relief from high interest rates through MOBUCK$ loans.
“This staggering demand is more evidence of both the popularity and the need for MOBUCK$ as a powerful relief valve against inflation. That is why my office is supporting legislation to expand MOBUCK$ maximum capacity by $400 million — to enable our state to provide more relief to qualified borrowers whose products and services strengthen Missouri’s economy.”
On Tuesday, a total of 97 loan applications were received for qualifying small businesses. Another 39 applications were received for agri-businesses, and six loan applications were received for multi-family housing. Even though Treasurer Malek reduced the maximum possible single loan amount in half to $5 million to expand the program’s impact, once funding was depleted the portal had to be shut down. That put the MOBUCK$ program at full statewide capacity of $800 million – meaning MOBUCK$ is closed for new loans until further notice.
MOBUCK$ works like this: The state treasurer deposits money with qualified banks, which then pay the state a below-market interest rate for those deposits. This allows the banks to make MOBUCK$ loans to qualifying borrowers with a roughly 30% reduction in the borrower’s interest rate. These are called linked-deposit loans, and they continue to be very popular. Since Treasurer Malek took office last January, the Treasurer’s office has approved $350.6 million in new linked deposits supporting low-interest loans.
Malek visited the Farmington Regional Chamber Office in November as part of his 45-county tour to spread awareness about the MOBUCK$ program.
To learn more about the treasurer’s office or the MOBUCK$ program, visit treasurer.mo.gov.
Lisa Brotherton-Barnes is a staff writer for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at lbarnes@dailyjournalonline.com.
