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would have to commit to increasing their lending, too.

So far, that hasn’t happened. Bank of America’s small business lending has dipped 4.1% in the last five months. The Charlotte, N.C.-based megabank says the decrease stems from the recession’s grim effect on small businesses’ balance sheets. As a result, Bank of America has tightened its lending standards, according to spokesman Don Vecchiarello.

Increasing the max loan size: The second major component of the President’s proposal involves lifting the maximum on SBA loans.

"These are the type of loans that Joe and Doug used to expand this business and create new jobs," Obama said, referring to his hosts for the day, Metropolitan Archives co-owners Joe Incarnato and Doug Peters. "Larger loans will help more small business owners and franchisees grow."

However, the majority of small businesses looking for loans are not pushing up against the SBA’s loan ceiling. Of the 44,000 loans the SBA backed last year, fewer than 15,000 were for more than $150,000, according to SBA data.

That has some small business owners scratching their heads over the new initiatives. Chuck Blakeman, president of Denver-based small business advisory firm Team Nimbus West, blasted Wednesday’s announcements as "another photo op for politicians that does absolutely nothing to solve the crisis for small business owners."

To score an SBA loan, businesses still have to convince a bank to issue it. With SBA lending down sharply, that’s a daunting challenge. "Somebody please tell me how raising the limits on loans people can’t get is helping them," Blakeman said.

Obama left the door open to further intervention, if these new efforts don’t spark a turnaround.

"[There’s] no question that we have a long way to go," he said. 

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