NFIB Optimism Index at Highest Reading Since February 2011

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Mar 13, 2012) - According to The Interface Financial Group (IFG), the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported today that United States small business confidence rose to a one year high in February. The latest optimism index increased to 94.3, from 93.9 in January.

There was also government data on Friday showing that job growth exceeded 200,000. According to the NFIB, 14 percent of its 350,000 members reported an increase in inventories, up three points from January, and the share of businesses that are still reducing stocks fell four points to 20 percent in February.

This news adds to other business indicators, including the unemployment rate holding steady at a three year low of 8.3 percent, to suggest that the economy is now in a self-sustaining growth phase. What's more, the recently announced Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, a package of six bills is intended to create more access to capital for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

"Overall this is positive news for small businesses and economic growth, however, solutions such as the JOBS Act does not take into account the reality for many of our country's small businesses, in that they are simply too small and their revenue is not large enough for the act to have much of any impact," said George Shapiro, chairman and chief executive officer of The Interface Financial Group (IFG). "However, factoring is one solution that works, and is a growing source of alternative funding for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)."

IFG offers spot factoring solutions that will enable an SME to sell its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash within less than 24 hours. Unlike a loan, factoring services are the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts. There are no upfront fees and no co-signers required. IFG has no minimum sales volume requirement, and professional fees are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged.

Private label solutions include export factoring, providing factoring services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; Construction Factoring; and Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they must expand and purchase inventory.

IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables and professional rates are competitive. The program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money, to spend the minimum fees, plus guarantee adequate cash flow.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)

The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources, including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, and offers cross-border transaction facilities. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 39 years of experience, IFG provides innovative accounts receivable factoring services and solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.