Last month, the status of SBA lending was worrisome to banks, potential borrowers and the agency alike.

The Small Business Administration was bumping up against its federally mandated cap of $18.5 billion in loans it could guarantee, and without prompt Congressional action, the agency would have to suspend new guarantees, leaving small businesses lining up to wait for 7(a) and 504 loans.

“Congress sets a limit of how many loans the SBA can guarantee,” said Mike Ernandes, spokesman for the SBA’s North Carolina operations. “The limit is based on historical lending trends, and the SBA was going to hit that limit sooner than [Congress] anticipated.”

Congress, however, did approve a new ceiling of $23.5 billion before the old limit was reached, smoothing the way for continued small business lending, which some local bank officials say continues to increase as more and more small businesses plan for growth after the Great Recession.

“There has been a large increase in SBA lending here, both at SunTrust and at other banks pretty much over all industries,” said Sandy Spiers, the city president for SunTrust in the Wilmington market.

Spiers cited the bank’s recent SBA-guaranteed 7(a) debt consolidation loan to a wholesaler that saved the business about $10,000 per month. By getting the SBA loan, she said, the business owner was able to spread out his amortization and had flexibility in the type and amount of collateral.

The loan was “very advantageous for this particular client,” she said.

Another borrower used the loan to buy a place rather than renting.

“The deal allowed him to expand into a larger space at less money per month,” Spiers said.

The uptick in SBA loans is probably a combination of business owners realizing the benefits of the program and banks making use of SBA-backed loans, she said. While the loans are used across all industries and by businesses at various stages of their life cycles, SBA loans are most needed by startup and early-stage companies or companies looking for flexibility in collateral or terms.

“Lending as a whole in Wilmington and North Carolina is increasing,” Spiers said. “It is up this year over last year over a wide gamut of industries: service, wholesale, distributors.”