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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is an independent agency that offers peace of mind to customers of its member banks. Director of the division of supervision and consumer protection Sandra Thompson says the organization also has programs and information that benefit small businesses, and talks them up in an interview with Black Enterprise.

Thompson highlights the Money Smart financial literacy initiative for people of all ages. And the organization is working with the Small Business Administration to encourage small businesses to take advantage of a U.S. Treasury Department lending fund, financed with $4 billion. Coupled with the lessons about creating a business plan from the Money Smart program, it can be the helping hand that entrepreneurs need to establish themselves. But the interview does raise the question of tighter lending standards at the nation’s banks.

“…I would encourage people to do is take a look at what information banks need to assess whether or not they’re going to approve a loan,” Thompson says. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into just opening and operating and establishing a small business and so there’s a lot of work that can be done up front.”

Read the entire Q&A on BlackEnterprise.com.