Merrill Lynch said Monday that it had loaned $1 million to the Valley Economic Development Center that will be used to help small businesses throughout Southern California.

The Merrill Lynch credit facility comes about two weeks after the Los Angeles City Council approved a $15 million loan to the nonprofit VEDC, a small-business incubator based in Van Nuys.

The agency’s loan fund now totals about $25 million, said its president, Roberto Barragan. He estimates that the Merrill Lynch cash infusion will save about 100 jobs. VEDC also received a $50,000 grant from Merrill Lynch that Barragan said will be used to hire a loan officer.

VEDC lending has quadrupled to about $1 million a month over the past four months as tight credit markets have made it increasingly difficult for businesses to get bank loans, Barragan said.

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