The U.S. Small Business Administration has restored lender fees to its 7(a) loan program. The 7(a) program, the SBA’s primary business loan program, provides loan guarantees to lenders that allow them to provide financial help for small businesses with special requirements. The maximum amount for a 7(a) loan is $5 million. Changes in recent years had removed the fees, sending the program into negative cash flow, putting its zero-subsidy status at risk, according to the SBA. By statute, the program is required to operate at “zero-subsidy,” or zero cost to taxpayers, and is funded through the collection of lender fees. “Since its inception, the SBA’s 7(a) loan program has launched millions of small businesses, driving economic growth and job creation. But the Biden administration’s actions to undermine the financial integrity of the program now threaten to leave taxpayers on the hook,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a press release. “To safeguard taxpayer-backed capital and small business formation, the SBA is taking immediate action to reverse these policies, starting with the restoration of lender fees to protect the future of the program.”