Modest Growth in Small Business Economy Continues

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Newtek Business Services Corp., The Small Business Authority^®, announced today the release of the SB Authority Index of small business indicators for April 2015 which reached 130.39 points.  Approved SBA lending volumes, the Russell Microcap Index and new entity formation led the increase. The SB Authority Index is up 0.12% from March 2015.  On a year-over-year comparison, the SB Authority Index is up 2.71%.

Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority^® commented, "Is the Great Wall of the U.S. consumer beginning to crack? Are Americans finally saturated with iPhones, iPads, flat screen TVs, cars and homes? The answer is maybe. With the U.S. GDP being dominated by retail sales and consumption for the last several decades and interest rates favoring spenders vs. savers, the stalling out of consumption should be somewhat concerning and needs to be watched carefully by economists and business leaders."

Mr. Sloane continued, "Our independent business owners are not seeing the effects and most have positioned themselves in the no- to slow-growth economic world of the last 4 years.  Even though the U.S. small business economy has bottomed from multi-decade lows, the improvement has been modest and lackluster at best. Our independent business owners tend to position themselves well by acquiring better technology and improving operational efficiencies against the backdrop of sluggish to no sales growth. This trend may have to continue for many years to come."

About Newtek Business Services Corp.

Newtek Business Services Corp., The Small Business Authority^®, is an internally managed business development company, which along with its controlled portfolio companies, provides a wide range of business services and financial products under the Newtek^®brand to the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to over 100,000 business accounts across all 50 States to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.