Jessica Pickens has always loved working in retail so when the owner of Fincher’s Inc. in Greenwood, Mississippi, said she was ready to retire, Ms. Pickens jumped at the chance to purchase the shop from her.

Fincher’s offers bridal registry and clothes for women, children and infants.

Getting approval for financing to buy the business proved difficult, however, until she learned about the Small Business Boost (SBB) loan offered by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).

A $65,000 SBB loan helped Ms. Pickens and her husband, Christopher Pickens, complete the purchase and hire two part-time employees.

Like other FHLB Dallas programs, the SBB is a secondary loan offered through member institutions, in this case BankPlus, to fill the gap between the loan amount that an FHLB Dallas member institution can fund and the loan request made by an eligible small business.

The program doesn’t require any loan payments or interest during the first year — a boost when starting or buying a business. After the first year of the loan, there’s a maximum interest rate of 3 percent in year two and a maximum interest rate of 6 percent after that.

“The SBB loan helped us tremendously,” Ms. Pickens said. “We wouldn’t have been able to purchase the business without it."

Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of Community Investment for FHLB Dallas, said that the SBB helps entrepreneurs navigate the toughest time — their first year in business.

“Having access to capital in the first few years is critical for small businesses,” Mr. Hettrick said. “The SBB loan gives small businesses the opportunity to be successful as there are no payments made on the loan in the first year.”

Visit fhlb.com/sbb to learn more.

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