As 2011 wound to a close, there was a sizeable drop in borrowing among Virginia small businesses from Small Business Administration loan programs compared to the end of 2010.
Small businesses borrowed $54 million through the Richmond office during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to SBA figures.
That’s down more than $30 million, or 36 percent, from the same period in 2010. Either fewer Virginia small businesses went to through SBA programs for cash or fewer were approved for loans.
Forty-seven lenders made a total of 133 SBA loans to small businesses in the state during the period between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, which is the SBA’s first fiscal quarter.
By comparison, 118 lenders made 214 SBA loans totaling $85 million in the fourth quarter 2010.
The most active SBA lender in the state was BB&T. It made 25 SBA loans totaling $3.22 million during the fourth quarter of 2011.
Wells Fargo, SunTrust, Suffolk-based TowneBank and Union First Market Bank rounded out the top five.
The bank that dished out the most money in SBA loans to Virginia small businesses during the quarter was Georgia-based First Chatham Bank. It made four loans amounting to $6.03 million.
SonaBank, a northern Virginia bank that recently opened its first branch in Richmond, followed First Chatham with 3 loans valued at $5.32 million.
Other local lenders that made SBA loans during the fourth quarter included Essex Bank, Peoples Bank of Virginia, and New Horizon Bank, upstart bank in Powhatan.
SBA loan volume in the agency’s Virginia district has slowly been creeping back toward its pre-recession levels.
During the Richmond SBA’s 2011 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011, 629 loans were made through the SBA Virginia District Office in Richmond. Those loans totaled $214.97 million.
That dollar amount was an improvement from fiscal year 2010, when 737 loans were made from the Virginia district for a total $174.45 million.
The office’s loan volume bottomed out during the recession in 2009 when around $153 million was borrowed.
The pre-recession figures from fiscal year 2008 reached $235 million.
As 2011 wound to a close, there was a sizeable drop in borrowing among Virginia small businesses from Small Business Administration loan programs compared to the end of 2010.
Small businesses borrowed $54 million through the Richmond office during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to SBA figures.
That’s down more than $30 million, or 36 percent, from the same period in 2010. Either fewer Virginia small businesses went to through SBA programs for cash or fewer were approved for loans.
Forty-seven lenders made a total of 133 SBA loans to small businesses in the state during the period between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, which is the SBA’s first fiscal quarter.
By comparison, 118 lenders made 214 SBA loans totaling $85 million in the fourth quarter 2010.
The most active SBA lender in the state was BB&T. It made 25 SBA loans totaling $3.22 million during the fourth quarter of 2011.
Wells Fargo, SunTrust, Suffolk-based TowneBank and Union First Market Bank rounded out the top five.
The bank that dished out the most money in SBA loans to Virginia small businesses during the quarter was Georgia-based First Chatham Bank. It made four loans amounting to $6.03 million.
SonaBank, a northern Virginia bank that recently opened its first branch in Richmond, followed First Chatham with 3 loans valued at $5.32 million.
Other local lenders that made SBA loans during the fourth quarter included Essex Bank, Peoples Bank of Virginia, and New Horizon Bank, upstart bank in Powhatan.
SBA loan volume in the agency’s Virginia district has slowly been creeping back toward its pre-recession levels.
During the Richmond SBA’s 2011 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011, 629 loans were made through the SBA Virginia District Office in Richmond. Those loans totaled $214.97 million.
That dollar amount was an improvement from fiscal year 2010, when 737 loans were made from the Virginia district for a total $174.45 million.
The office’s loan volume bottomed out during the recession in 2009 when around $153 million was borrowed.
The pre-recession figures from fiscal year 2008 reached $235 million.
Having recently gone through the process, I believe that it is a case of the approvals going down. While my loan was approved, the process was incredibly invasive with the underwriters expecting me to put up everything short of my children as collateral. It is important to note that the SBA does not lend money. It is the banks that make the loans and the SBA underwrites them. Behind the bank underwriters are government officials who are pressuring the banks to heavily scrutinize every loan regardless of the business and personal financial records. These federal officials have adopted a mindset… Read more »
Mike, you hit the nail squarely on the head. The US Treasury Department has full control of the banks these days. If the bank doesn’t do what it’s told the Treasury Department pulls its charter, even if the bank is solvent. The homebuilding industry is seeing this as well. Banks are getting people who want a home loan with a 700+ credit score and $100,000 income for a $250,000 home, who they have to turn down because Treasury has ordered the bank to reject the loan. We do have a nationalized banking system. To suggest we don’t is foolish and… Read more »
There are other ways to fund your business even if you are a start up. In the month of December alone my company funded 5 businesses, 2 of which were brand new. There are alternative funders providing anything from Unsecured Lines of Credit, Purchase Order and Contract Financing, as well as access to Angel Investors. You just need to know how to find them.
Amen James! Commercial lendors hands are tied by the government/fed also and you are right, the economy cannot recovery under the ever-changing and heavy burden of the overly-stringent lending requirements.