Wells Fargo. Cathay Bank. KeyBank. Columbia Bank. In all, 14 banks turned down Bill and his wife. Lack of collateral was invariably the reason. “Banks tell us to get lost when we come knocking on the door, even though we are putting up 60 percent on a $1.3 million project, which is halfway complete,” Bill wrote in early August.

A few weeks later, however, Bill sent me another, very different e-mail: Bill and Zhiqin were going to get their loan after all. A local institution, Sterling Savings Bank, based in Spokane, Wash., had said yes — much to their amazement and delight.

Why had Sterling been willing to overlook the lack of collateral, which had a been a deal-breaker for every other institution? Because, as one of its executives, Robert Weisel, explained to me, making sensible loans to small businesspeople was how Sterling competed for business — even when the loan applicants didn’t meet “the traditional standard,” as he put it.

“We are linked to our region and our community,” he said. ‘We try to distinguish ourselves by trying to figure out how to make transactions work, even if it means being willing to think outside the box.” In this case, Bill’s cash flow and Zhiqin’s track record more than made up for the lack of collateral.

On Thursday night, President Obama offered up a series of tax breaks to small businesses as part of his jobs package. “Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin,” he told Congress. I don’t mean to diminish the tax relief, which may, indeed, encourage small businesses to start hiring. But, far more than tax relief, small businesses need credit. That is what the president should be pushing for.

Three years ago, the federal government used tens of billions in taxpayer dollars to save the banking system. Now, at this dire economic moment, the country needs the banks to return the favor. Pushing the country’s banks to act more like Sterling Savings Bank, and less like JPMorgan Chase, is something that the president might want to put on his jobs agenda.