Texas Small Business Credit Initiative Capital Access Program (TSBCI CAP)
A loan loss reserve program funded by the federal SSBCI. When a participating lender enrolls a small business loan, the lender and borrower each pay a premium into the lender's reserve account and the state matches it, and the lender can recover up to 100% of charged-off principal from the reserve. It covers loans of $5,000 to $5 million to Texas small businesses. Texas has since moved most of its SSBCI allocation out of this program, which now has $4.7 million.
- Last reviewed
Key terms
- Lender and borrower premiums
- Matching premiums from lender and borrower: 1% to 2.5% of principal for borrowers that are not SEDI or very small businesses (up to 3.5% case by case); 1% to 3.5% for SEDI or very small business borrowers
- gov.texas.gov
- Claim coverage
- Up to 100% of charged-off principal on enrolled loans, from the lender's loan loss reserve
- gov.texas.gov
- Program fees
- TSBCI charges no fees to the borrower or lender; lenders may charge their own origination fees
- gov.texas.gov
- Interest rate
- Set by the lender, but not above the maximum allowed by Texas law or the NCUA interest rate ceiling, whichever is less
- gov.texas.gov
- Original Capital Access Program
- The older state Capital Access Program (OCAP) is being wound down under House Bill 1515 (88-R), with an expected end during fiscal year 2026; House Bill 3271 (87-R) authorized this TSBCI CAP in its place
- gov.texas.gov
Borrower eligibility
- The borrower must be a very small business (fewer than 10 employees) or small business (fewer than 500 employees), organized for profit, and domiciled in Texas or with at least 51% of its employees in Texas.gov.texas.gov
- Loans to nonprofit borrowers cannot be enrolled.gov.texas.gov
- Proceeds must be used for a business purpose such as start-up costs, working capital, franchise fees, equipment, inventory, or buying, building or improving a place of business that is not a passive real estate investment. Goodwill, securities purchases and lobbying are excluded.gov.texas.gov
- Prior PPP or other COVID-19 federal aid does not disqualify a borrower.gov.texas.gov
Lender requirements
What a lender must be or do to make these loans.
- Banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions may participate.gov.texas.gov
- A lender applies through the TSBCI portal and, once its application is approved, must sign a participation agreement prescribed by the Economic Development & Tourism Office before it can use the loan enrollment portal.gov.texas.gov
- The borrower and the lender each review and certify or acknowledge TSBCI-specific forms for every enrolled loan.gov.texas.gov
- Program funds are available first come, first served.gov.texas.gov
Underwriting requirements
What the credit file has to show.
- TSBCI does not make the loan or approve rates; the lender underwrites and prices the loan under its own process, within the state-law and NCUA rate limits.gov.texas.gov
Governing documents
The rules a file is held to, with the version in force.
What changed
Published changes to this program, newest first.
- Information notice
New simplified TSBCI application process for lenders
The Governor's office announced a new, simplified application process for financial institutions joining TSBCI through the TSBCI portal and published an updated list of approved participating lenders.
What to do: Lenders not yet enrolled can apply through the TSBCI portal using the simplified process.
How to participate
Apply through the TSBCI web portal linked from the program page. After the Economic Development Finance Division approves the application, sign the TSBCI participation agreement to get access to the loan enrollment portal, then enroll eligible loans with the TSBCI borrower and lender forms. Approved lenders appear on the published list of participating financial institutions.
Last reviewed Nov 13, 2026. A summary of official sources, linked beside each fact, kept current by Kita each week. Program rules change: confirm against the current source before you rely on a figure. Not legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@kita.ai.
Run TSBCI CAP on Kita.
Kita underwrites the whole file, configured to your own credit policy and to the programs you run. Your underwriter keeps the decision.
Tax returns, bank statements and financials, as PDFs, scans or photos.
Period over period, with debt service coverage computed from the spread.
Tests the file against TSBCI CAP requirements and flags what is missing before it reaches review.
Every figure links to the page it came from, so it can be checked.