1. (a) Companies licensed on or after October 1, 1996. A company licensed on or after October 1, 1996, must have Leverageable Capital of at least $2,500,000 and must meet the applicable minimum Regulatory Capital requirement in this paragraph (a), unless lower Leverageable Capital and Regulatory Capital amounts are approved by SBA as part of a Wind-down Plan in accordance with § 107.590(c):

   1. (1) Licensees other than Early Stage SBICs. Except for Early Stage SBICs, a Licensee must have Regulatory Capital of at least $5,000,000. As an exception to the general rule in this paragraph (a)(1), SBA in its sole discretion and based on a showing of special circumstances and good cause, which includes applicants that are headquartered in an Underlicensed State, may license an applicant with Regulatory Capital of at least $3,000,000, but only if the applicant:

      1. (i) Has satisfied all licensing standards and requirements except the minimum capital requirement, as determined solely by SBA;
      2. (ii) Has a viable business plan reasonably projecting profitable operations; and
      3. (iii) Has a reasonable timetable for achieving Regulatory Capital of at least $5,000,000.
   2. (2) Early Stage SBICs. An Early Stage SBIC must have Regulatory Capital of at least $20 million.
2. (b) Companies licensed before October 1, 1996. A company licensed before October 1, 1996 must meet the minimum capital requirements applicable to such company, as required by the regulations in effect on September 30, 1996. See § 107.1120(c)(2) for Leverage eligibility requirements.

[63 FR 5866, Feb. 5, 1998, as amended at 77 FR 25051, Apr. 27, 2012; 82 FR 39340, Aug. 18, 2017; 88 FR 46007, July 18, 2023]