Five Questions With: Kevin Ferryman

Kevin Ferryman is senior vice president and Small Business Administration director at Citizens Financial Group Inc.
Kevin Ferryman is senior vice president and Small Business Administration director at Citizens Financial Group Inc.

Kevin Ferryman is senior vice president and Small Business Administration director at Citizens Financial Group Inc.
The Providence-based bank last month was named among the top 100 most active small business lenders in the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

http://www.pbn.com/Citizens-among-top-100-SBA-lenders-in-nation-Coastway-leads-in-RI,109476?search_filter=citizens+bank&sub_type=stories,packages
Ferryman talks with Providence Business News about small business lending, SBA loan programs and what it all means to Citizens.

PBN: The Small Business Administration named Citizens Bank one of the top 100 most active small business lenders in the country. Has the number of SBA-backed loans throughout your footprint been growing?
FERRYMAN:
SBA lending is an important part of our business and one that we’ve ramped up as the growth needs of small businesses has increased. In fact, Citizens Bank ranked No. 11 in units and No. 44 in dollars for the SBA 2015 fiscal year end. This ranking is up from No. 12 in units and No. 63 in dollars at the end of last year. Our SBA growth can primarily be attributed to the use of SBA programs to expand our ability to provide financing to small businesses that need capital.

PBN: Is small business lending through the SBA considered an area of growth for the bank?
FERRYMAN:
As a regional bank with deep roots in all of the communities we serve, we see lending, cash management and other services for small business as being at the very core of what we do best. Our SBA lending has grown significantly over the past year and we expect to continue to grow this portion of our business as smaller companies increasingly look for lending and other financial services to meet their growth needs. The SBA guaranty gives us the ability to expand small business lending to businesses that may not qualify under our standard credit policy. It also gives us the ability to offer a more favorable financing structure in some cases.

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PBN: Nationwide there’s been an increase in demand from small businesses for SBA-backed loans, especially through its 7(a) Loan Program. Why do you think this is happening?
FERRYMAN:
There are several factors driving SBA loan growth including a broader spectrum of small businesses seeking the appropriate capital structure to grow their business. The SBA loan program expands our ability to provide financing to this segment. In addition, the SBA continues to improve their 7(a) loan program to make it more streamlined for banks and less complicated for small businesses.

PBN: The SBA reports Citizens made 26 SBA-backed 7(a) loans in Rhode Island last fiscal year totaling $4.8 million, which is actually an overall reduction from fiscal 2014. Has there been a decrease in interest in the Ocean State or are there other contributing factors?
FERRYMAN:
Rhode Island is a very important market for us and we are committed to helping meet the financing needs of small businesses in our home state. There was less demand for SBA-backed 7(a) loans in Rhode Island overall this year, according to the SBA’s report of activity, across all of the banks.

PBN: If businesses are considering an SBA-backed loan, why should they consider working with Citizens versus other financial institutions?
FERRYMAN:
Citizens is a leading provider of SBA loans, and we are proud of our strong history of making these loans available in every market across our footprint. We continue to work hard to help support growth opportunities for small business. In fact, we have a dedicated SBA lending team that works exclusively with small businesses to ensure they understand which SBA loans are available to best fit their business needs. This teams reviews each loan request to determine the structure that would be the best fit for the small business, whether SBA or conventional. Our goal is simply to deliver the best experience we can to meet the financing needs of small businesses.

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