Bank of the West SBA Lending Niche a Winning Strategy

February 21, 2013

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman Report

Texas based Bank of the West make a strategic decision to focus on SBA lending to Main Street when it opened in 1986. The bank’s average SBA 7(a) loan size if just over $500,000 and it services a portfolio of almost $50 million.

The future outlook for small business lending?

Co-founder, Vice President and past ICBA president Cynthia Blankenship says, “We are beginning to see more demand for loans in various sectors. It seems that the local entrepreneur is fairly comfortable with the current economic environment and the low interest rates are beneficial to cash flow.

“We do, however, continue to hear that the regulatory and political environment in Washington is unsettling to most entrepreneurs. A one size fits all doesn’t work any better for small business than it does for banks.

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