SBA was created in 1953 to assist and protect the interests of small businesses, in part by addressing constraints in the supply of credit for these firms. The 7(a) program, named after the section of the Small Business Act that authorized it, is SBA's largest business loan program. The program is intended to serve creditworthy small business borrowers who cannot obtain credit through a conventional lender at reasonable terms and do not have the personal resources to provide financing themselves. Under the 7(a) program, SBA guarantees loans made by commercial lenders to small businesses for working capital and other general business purposes.