SBA announces local lenders of the year

PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Small Business Administration has named its top local lenders for the 2019 fiscal year in an announcement Friday.

The award winners were celebrated at an awards ceremony in Providence. The SBA said that a total of 297 SBA loans were approved in fiscal 2019 by 50 different lenders for nearly $123 million.

Navigant Credit Union was named the 7(a) Lender of the Year for fiscal 2019.

The 7(a) loan is the SBA’s primary program for providing assistance to small businesses. The intricacies of a 7(a) loan varies by type, but they tend to be a basic loan backed by an SBA guarantee, which allows lenders to lend money to small businesses that may have more weaknesses than larger entities.

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The 504 3rd Party Lender of the Year for fiscal 2019 was BankNewport.

The 504 Loan Program provides approved small businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing used to acquire fixed assets for expansion or modernization.

Other local awardees for fiscal 2019:

  • Webster Bank N.A. was named the 7(a) Dollar Volume Lender of the Year.
  • Bristol County Savings Bank was named the 7(a) and 504 Combined Lender of the Year
  • Ocean State Business Development Authority was named the Certified Development Company of the Year
  • South Eastern Economic Development Corp. was named the Micro Lender of the Year

The Microloan program provides loans up to $50,000 to help small businesses and certain not-for-profit childcare centers start up and expand. The average microloan is about $13,000, according to the SBA.

The SBA said that the total number of 7(a) loans in declined in Rhode Island year over year, despite a $10.5 million increase in the value of loans approved. The Micro Loan program was said to have nearly doubled the amount of money lent to small businesses year over year.

“All of these lending institutions should be commended for their commitment to small business here in Rhode Island,” said SBA District Director Mark S. Hayward in a statement.  “We are so pleased to have such dedicated partners in the lending community who utilize all of the programs the SBA offers in an effort to grow the state’s economy. Having access to much needed capital is what helps our small businesses start and grow.”