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SBA Lending Up By Number of Deals, Dollar Value

Small-business lending in Orange County continued to grow in recent months, based on this week’s Business Journal ranking.

This week we have two lists: one ranking the most active SBA lenders here by dollar value of loans, the other by number of loans. Both lists are based on data from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The 28 lenders on the dollar-value list provided a combined $225 million in SBA loans to OC borrowers, up by about 31% from a year earlier (see related graphic, this page).

Most of the increase—as with the loan-number list—reflected activity generated by national and regional banks and other lenders operating in OC, though nonbank lenders broke into the top five on the strength of continued post-recession small business loan activity.

The Business Journal’s loan-number list ranks 39 lenders that combined for 440 loans, up by 16% from 379.

Lenders on both lists include banks, community development institutions and nonprofit lenders that provide SBA loans.

The information presents lending data for the six months ending March 31 and includes only loans made to OC borrowers, regardless of lenders’ headquarters or branch locations.

• San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank took the No. 1 spot on both lists by lending a little more than $45 million to 125 OC applicants. Those reflect increases of 96% in dollar amount and 105% in the number of loans compared to a year earlier.

Steve Doss, senior vice president for Wells Fargo SBA Lending, said the increase resulted from focused marketing efforts, Wells Fargo bankers’ ongoing efforts to reach business owners, and the bank’s desire to offer a variety of loans to meet various customers’ needs.

“Our increase in SBA loan units year-over-year also was supported by our enhanced focus on supporting smaller and newer businesses, which contributed to the growth in small SBA loans and our SBA Express line of credit business,” he said.

• Minneapolis, Minn.-based U.S. Bank’s SBA Division in Irvine ranked No. 2 in loan dollars, up from No. 3 last year, with about $16 million in financing, up about 18% from the same six months a year earlier. It made 34% fewer loans, or 46 total, over the same period.

• Irvine-based nonprofit lender CDC Small Business Finance jumped seven spots to take the No. 3 position in dollar value by issuing about $15 million to local businesses, a 112% increase. The lender meanwhile doubled the number of loans it made to 20, putting it at No. 4 on that list, up four spots from last year.

Nonprofit lenders have seen a steady increase in activity since the Great Recession, said Stacy Sanchez, a loan expert in the Orange County office of CDC Small Business Finance. “Nonbank lenders have filled the need to lend to new owners, because many banks have shied away from issuing small-business loans.”

The federal government issued new laws to help nonprofit lenders provide financing to entrepreneurs and to create jobs, Sanchez said.

“Banks will always provide larger loans at lower rates” than a nonprofit, she said, “but nonbank lenders are a little more flexible in our requirements.”

• Two nonbank lenders, Pacific West Certified Development Corp. in Laguna Beach and Oakland-based TMC Financing, rank No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on the loan dollar-value list.

Pacific West climbed three spots after increasing its loan dollar total by 40% to $14 million. It served 11 clients, up by four.

TMC’s loan value grew 74% to $11 million, pushing it up from the No. 11 position. The lender added three clients during the period for a total of 10.

• Pasadena-based Community Bank is one of five institutions to debut on the dollar-value list this year. It ranks No. 6, with nearly $11 million in SBA loans in OC, up 429%. It added up 14 clients, up 10 from a year earlier.

• Plaza Bank in Irvine moved up six spots to No. 7 with $9.9 million in small-business loans, up 74%. It serviced the same number of clients: nine.

• The Irvine office of Davis-based nonbank lender California Statewide Certified Development Corp. issued $8.2 million in loans, up 5% to put it at No. 8. Its OC clientele dropped by one for a total of six.

• Los Angeles-based Pacific City Bank leapt 18 spots to No. 9 with a 130% increase to $7 million in loans among eight OC clients. That’s one more borrower than a year earlier.

• Irvine-based Commercial Bank of California soared 19 spots to round out the top 10 SBA lenders in OC, with slightly less than $7 million, an increase of 142%. It loaned to five local clients during the six-month period, up two from a year earlier. It was tied with four other banks for the No. 23 spot on the loan-number list.

The other lenders debuting on this year’s dollar-value list:

• East West Bank in Irvine had a 1,300% increase in loan value to $5.9 million, ranking No. 14. The bank had five SBA clients this term, up from one a year earlier.

• Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank, which closed its acquisition of Orange County Business Bank in Irvine in February, came in at No. 16 with $5.2 million in loans to three local clients.

• Los Angeles-based Hana Small Business Lending Inc. ranks No. 20 with $4.6 million, up about 300%, to 11 local businesses.

• The Irvine office of New York-based Citibank ranked No. 24 with $3.2 million in SBA loans, a 195% increase to three businesses, one more client than the earlier period.

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