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JEFFERSON CITY — A state-funded small business loan program was closed to new applications after just six hours Tuesday due to “overwhelming demand,” state Treasurer Vivek Malek said in a news release this week.

The loan program, called MOBUCKS, received 142 applications for a total of about $119 million in less than a day, according to the release.

The MOBUCKS loan application had not previously been open since last May due to funding limits set by state law.

Of applications received this week, 97 were submitted by small businesses, 39 for agri-businesses and six for multi-family housing.

MOBUCKS, which was launched in 1985, is geared toward helping small businesses, farmers, agriculture businesses, affordable housing developers and local governments.

“Using the program allows lenders to lower the interest rates to the borrower by about 2-3%,” the program’s website says.

Ahead of reopening applications this week, Malek reduced the maximum loan amount from $10 million to $5 million.

“My goal is to help more small businesses and stretch this dollar so that more businesses can take advantage of this,” he said.

Nonetheless, the treasurer’s office is bumping into the statutory funding cap imposed by state law.

Currently, there is an $800 million limit on the funds that can be loaned out through the program at any given time. As loans are made or repaid, the state must ensure it does not exceed the $800 million mark. Malek is supporting legislation to increase the limit to $1.2 billion.

He’s enlisting the support of Rep. Terry Thompson, R-Lexington, and Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo, who are sponsoring bills in the House and Senate, respectively.

An effort to push the increase through the Legislature failed last year.

The increased figure would not expand the state budget.

The money for MOBUCKS comes from the pool of funds managed by the treasurer’s office. The legislation is a request to increase the amount of money the treasurer can invest into MOBUCKS funds, which are repaid to the state.

Malek, who was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson and is running for election in the 2024 treasurer’s race, toured more than 40 counties in Missouri to promote the program this year.

He told the Post-Dispatch that he comes from a business background and understands the needs of business owners during tough economic times.

“If you’re a business with very small profit margins, and if you have taken out loans, those high interest rates can eat up your profit margin pretty quickly,” he said. Malek said the lower-interest loans are key to some businesses being able to stay open.

In the GOP primary this Aug. 6, Malek will face House Budget Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage, Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, and Lori Rook, a Springfield attorney.