Massachusetts banks are doling out SBA loans at a bronze-level clip lately: Since SBA loan changes were announced in February, the state has ranked third in the nation for new SBA loans, only behind districts in Utah and Minnesota.

Robert H. Nelson, district director for the SBA’s Massachusetts office, said the state had 229 loans made over that two-month period, equaling $36.7 million. That kind of volume beats last year’s, he said, when weeks would pass with loan numbers in the single digits. The average week would bring about 20 loans – now, that number is more like 37.

No Small Change

SBA announced its new loan programs and guarantees with much fanfare earlier this year. In February, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which, among other things, allowed the SBA to offer guarantees of 90 percent for some loans – previously, it had only been able to offer 75 percent or 85 percent guarantees.

In addition, the act set up new lending programs for the SBA, including one that provides loans of up to $35,000 apiece, guaranteed 100 percent by SBA, to help businesses make payments on their existing loans. The idea is to provide an aid to good businesses that are struggling to make ends meet in the current economy; the borrower won’t have to start repayments on those existing loans for up to 12 months.

The details and execution of those brand-new programs have yet to be revealed, Nelson said, but he expects further information in a matter of weeks.

Massachusetts appears to be topping its New England peers in terms of stand-out numbers, Nelson said.

Still, numbers are up elsewhere: Connecticut, for example, reported a promising recovery from a grinding low in January, when “our loan volume almost disappeared,” according to Greta Johansson of the Connecticut SBA office.

Since the new program changes were announced, the SBA has counted 107 loans through Connecticut’s institutions, compared to 280 loans total since the SBA’s fiscal year began on Oct. 1, she said.

Nelson attributes Massachusetts’ strong numbers to the diversity of its small business lenders – many of which had previously disappeared from the SBA’s radar in recent years.

With the new programs and guarantees taking effect in the current lending environment, many such lenders have revived old relationships with the SBA.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Massachusetts SBA worked hard to get the word out to banks “from the Berkshires to the Cape,” he said.

“Ever since President Obama signed the Recovery Act on Feb. 17, we have just been pounding the pavement, and that’s over the entire state.”