Community Small Business Advances support the local economy and community revitalization efforts in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Update: The 2025 program opened on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. CT. Funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis until our $15 million subsidy is exhausted. Due to overwhelming demand, new applications are not being accepted at this time. If you are an FHLBank Chicago member and have any questions, please contact your Sales Director directly or our Member Transaction Desk at mtd@fhlbc.com or 855.345.2244, option 1. Thank you to our members for their participation!
Community Small Business Advance
- Agricultural operations
- Commercial, service, or retail operations
- Hospitality and recreation-based businesses
- Internet-related businesses
- Social service providers
- Small-scale industrial and manufacturing operations
- Trades
- Professional services
- Limited to fixed rate, fixed term (A121) advance; subject to standard advance requirements
- Advance rate is fixed at 0%
- Program limits:
- The overall program limit is $15M in interest-rate subsidy with a $500,000 per-member (or holding company with multiple members) limit.
- The member has a limited pass-through rate to its borrower of up to 4.5%.
- Subsidy is available on a first-come first-served basis.
- The subsidy is calculated based on the applicable Community Advance rate in effect on the day of application approval.
- Advance must be drawn within 90 days of underlying loan origination.
- Members will have 120 calendar days from the pre-approval date to execute the advance.
- Community Small Business Advance does not impact limits associated with other Community Advance programs.
To qualify, an FHLBank Chicago member must complete the Community Small Business Advance application and certify the eligibility of the small business for both beneficiary criteria:
- Geographic beneficiary:
- The principal place of business is located in FHLBank Chicago’s District (Illinois or Wisconsin), and
- The principal place of business or the location of job creation/retention is in a low- to moderate-income census tract (defined as 100% of area median income or below). (Member can verify eligibility for this criterion using the FFIEC link below).
- Activity beneficiary: The small business qualifies by either annual receipts or number of employees, based on the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations, which utilize the North American Industry Classification System Codes. (Members can verify eligibility for this criterion using the SBA Size Standards link below).
- Certification in application, certifying compliance with underlying loan and business eligibility requirements, as well as loan status reporting requirements.
- Promissory note and if deemed necessary by FHLBank Chicago, business incorporation documents and property tax information, to ensure compliance with borrower loan rate, loan origination, and other loan terms.
Use the subsidy calculator (linked below) to calculate the subsidy amount of the small business loan.
Note: This number is an estimate and the actual subsidy will be calculated at application approval.
Questions related to Community Small Business Advance can be directed to Member Transaction Desk at 855.345.2244, option 1 or mtd@fhlbc.com.