Coleman’s Movers and Shakers

February 18, 2016

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman’s Movers and Shakers

Jon Daly Joins Renasant Bank, SBA Lending Team Announced

“The superior level of talent and expertise within Renasant provides us with an unparalleled advantage in the small business lending arena. We are excited by the many growth opportunities we see ahead, and we look forward to delivering unmatched quality in serving the lending needs of our business partners and communities,” says Director of Business Services, Mike Sims.

Georgia-based Renasant Bank announces Jon Daly has joined the bank as Executive Vice President and Director of SBA Banking; and, the division’s SBA Business Development Officers will comprise perennial SBA superstars, Jim Brown, Melanie Brown, Steve Wilson and Shay Barkley.

Daly is charged with continuing the growth of the SBA Division’s reach. This leadership role is very familiar to Daly as he has previously held similar positions with two large financial institutions from 2001 to 2015.

In 2011, Jim Brown initiated the Bank’s SBA Division and is credited for the division’s success to date. However, Brown is excited to relinquish leadership responsibilities and transition to a production role as an SBA Business Development Officer.

Melanie Brown, SBA Business Development Officer, joins Renasant from a local bank where she established an SBA lending unit. Also a veteran SBA banker, Brown brings more than 15 years of SBA lending experience to Renasant.

Shay Barkley joins Renasant as an SBA Business Development Officer with 20 plus years of banking expertise. A top SBA lender in the state of Georgia, Barkley has been recognized on multiple occasions for her outstanding production.

With more than 20 years of lending experience, Steve Wilson joined Renasant’s SBA Lending Division in 2013 as an SBA Business Development Officer. Wilson will continue to contribute to the success of the SBA Lending Division as a member of Renasant’s growing SBA Lending team.

Tom Wallace Elected to NADCO Board of Directors

Says NADCO Secretary Matt Davis, “The ballot box for the Region IV Special Election closed Friday February 19th and the votes have been counted. The new Region IV Director is Tom Wallace of IDS Corp. On behalf of everyone at NADCO we would like to congratulate Tom. The NADCO Board would like to thank everyone that voted or had a hand in carrying out the election. Tom’s term will begin February 23, 2016 and run until the election held at the 2016 Annual Meeting in November.”

SmartBiz Claims #1 Online SBA Small Loan Platform

SmartBiz, the #1 online SBA lending marketplace, has facilitated over $125 million in SBA loans through its technology platform, achieving over 400% year-over-year growth in 2015. Only JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and Huntington National Bank have originated more SBA loans of $350,000 or less in the first four months of the current U.S. Government fiscal year.

“Small businesses need a quick and easy way to see whether SBA financing will work for them, and the SmartBiz platform allows small businesses to do exactly that,” said Mark Quinn, San Francisco District Director US Small Business Administration.

“Businesses need access to affordable funds to expand operations or refinance high interest debt. The traditional approach to the SBA loan process has not only been extremely cumbersome, but has resulted in low approval rates as many smaller companies have found themselves locked out of the SBA loan market,” said Sean O’Malley, co-founder of SmartBiz.

“We’ve succeeded because we provide a sophisticated technology platform that, for the first time, enables higher approval rates through better lender matching, and yields faster and easier access to SBA loans. We offer the best loan product for small businesses on the market. No one does exactly what we do and we look forward to playing a key role in business finance in the years to come as we grow,” explained SmartBiz president Evan Singer.

Lendio Records Record Growth

“70 percent of the jobs in our country are small businesses, but until recently,
small business owners have been left to navigate the complicated financing
process on their own,” says Brock Blake, CEO and co-founder, Lendio. “At
Lendio, fueling the American Dream is our mission and motivation, and seeing
the immense financial value our customers are achieving with our diverse
marketplace is the best indicator of our success as a company.”

In 2015 alone, Lendio facilitated over $128 million in financing for more than
5,100 small business owners in all 50 states. By comparison, in 2014 Lendio
aided more than 400 small business owners in securing $12.4 million in funding –
representing a gain of over 1175 percent.

Calendar

CDC Oversight Symposium, March 3-4, San Diego

2016 Southeastern Small Business Lenders Conference, March 6-8, Hilton Head

The Franchise Times Finance & Growth Conference, March 14-16, Las Vegas

9th Annual SBA Export Lenders’ Roundtable, April 6, Washington D.C.

USDA Rural Development Lender’s Meeting, April 7, Washington D.C.

NAGGL SBA Lending Technical Conference, May 2-4, St. Louis

NADCO Spring Summit, May 22-25, Arlington, VA

Western Pennsylvania, May 23-24, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, PA

America East, August 24-26, Philadelphia

America’s SBDC, September 19-22, Orlando

FLAGGL 2016, September 21-23, Orlando