The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking comment on two proposed rules published this week in the Federal Register that would revise the small business size definitions for businesses in three North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors: agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; finance and insurance; and management of companies and enterprises. The proposed revisions reflect changes in marketplace conditions.
SBA also proposed increasing 32 revenue-based size standards and 5 asset-based size standards in the Finance and Insurance Sector. In addition, SBA proposed increasing two size standards in the Management of Companies and Enterprises Sector. Lastly, SBA proposed to change how it measures the size of International Trade Financing firms from average assets to average revenues.
SBA estimates that more than 5,400 additional firms in these last two sectors will become eligible for SBA’s programs under the revised revenue-based size standards, if adopted. The revised asset-based size standards, if adopted, would allow 2,000 more financial institutions to qualify as small, including 25 minority-owned financial institutions that could become eligible to participate in subcontracting agreements with prime contractors for subcontracting goals and credits.
For more information about SBA’s revisions to its small business size standards, click on “What’s New with Size Standards” on SBA’s website, click here.