Coleman Thursday’s Movers and Shakers

October 2, 2014

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman Report

miguelgonzalesMiguel Gonzalez Retires of SBA Houston District Director

Read this nice interview of Miguel.

Miguel tells the BizJournal, “We’re actually one of the bright spots in the country. Not only have we gotten 25 new lenders to sign up for our programs, but also five new credit unions, and that got the attention of our friends in D.C. They want to look at what we’re doing and use it as a model for some of the other districts in the country.”

“This has been our best year. This year we’ll do close to 1,300 loans worth about $800 million, versus about 1,250 on the high point in 2011 for about $500 million. So this year we’ll not only do more (loan) units but (lend) more dollars.”

Antonio ZateAntonio Zate Joins Union Bank’s SBA Department

“Antonio’s career as an SBA lender and his deep understanding of lending programs will greatly enhance our team as we support small business owners in the vast Los Angeles region looking to grow their businesses,” says Managing Director Didi Hakes.

Zate has nearly 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and a strong knowledge of SBA lending. Prior to joining Union Bank, Zate was the Los Angeles SBA regional sales manager for Wells Fargo and a senior vice president for GE Capital, where he led the first SBA lending team in Southern California. He also served as a financial consultant for Merill Lynch. Zate began his career as a certified public account with Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Company, LLP.

Patrick Simpson Named VP and SBA BDO for NewBridge Bank

“We are equally excited to formally develop our SBA lending program under Patrick’s leadership. While he will sit in Winston-Salem, Patrick will share his expertise and leadership experience with his commercial banking partners throughout NewBridge Bank’s footprint which includes 40 full-service branches and multiple loan production offices in North and South Carolina,” says new boss Spence Broadhurst, senior executive vice president and chief banking officer.

Golden Pacific Raises $3 Million in Capital for its SBA online program

Reports Mark Anderson of Sacramento Business Journal, “Earlier this year, Golden Pacific Bank launched an automated nationwide online program to make SBA microloans. That program has become extremely successful, lending out millions of dollars. The loan amounts were as small as $5,000 up to $150,000, with the bank’s sweet spot being loans under $25,000, CEO Virginia Varela said. Using technology of San Francisco-basedBetter Finance Inc., the bank’s Smartbizloan.com loan portal lets small businesses apply for SBA loans.”

socalcdcSoCal CDC Completes Third Year Of Operation

“SBA works hard with our lenders to infuse much needed dollars into our local market, creating jobs and improving our economy,” says Victor Parker, Director for SBA’s Los Angeles District Office. “For the past three years SoCal CDC has shown a strong commitment to empowering small business owners and providing them with access to capital that they otherwise may not be able to obtain.”

During this time period, SoCal CDC has funded 87 SBA 504 loans for over $152 million in total project financing and help create and retain over 980 jobs.

 

Upcoming Small Business Lending Conferences

NAGGL 2014 Annual Meeting, October 28-30, Huntington Beach
2014 Upstate NY SBA Lender Conference, November 5, Rochester

American Banker/RMA Small Business Banking Conference, November 19-21, Miami
Coleman’s 7th Annual SBA Secondary Market Forum, December 2, Washington D.C.
Coleman’s 15th Annual Rural Lender’s Roundtable, December 3, Washington D.C.
2015 Southeastern Small Business Lenders Conference, February 23-25, Location TBA