Business is booming at the Los Angeles office of the Small Business Administration, which operates loan guarantee, contracting support and small-business skill-building programs for the 12 million residents of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the Los Angeles Times reports.

SBA-guaranteed loans made by 150 lenders in the district broke the 6,000 mark for the first time in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The record total of 6,194 amounts to a 21% annual jump. The value of the loans guaranteed also climbed, up 13% to $1.3 billion.

That increase came despite a 25% decrease in staff over the last 2 1/2 years at the SBA regional headquarters in Glendale.

“We believe we have the best lending program in the country,” said Alberto Alvarado, longtime head of the regional office.

The district’s SBA-certified lenders also made more loans to women and minorities than any other district office in the country, he said.

Almost 2,400 women-owned businesses received SBA-guaranteed loans in the last fiscal year, a jump of 85% over the previous year. The number of minority-owned firms that received loans jumped 25% to 3,827 in the same period. The loans are made by private lenders but backed by the SBA.

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