Kentucky Highlands, Paragon Bank Named Coleman SBA Rural Lenders of the Year
January 31, 2025
Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher
Kentucky Highlands, Paragon Bank Named Coleman SBA Rural Lenders of the Year
KHIC Financing Awarded Coleman Rural Main Street Lender of the Year
KHIC Lending Team
Jerry Rickett, President and CEO of Kentucky Highlands says, “one in ten folks living in our service area will have dinner tonight with a bread winner that has a job with a company that has been assisted by KHIC”.
The nonprofit CDFI in southeastern KY mission is to foster economic development in 22 counties with a population of one-half million in the Appalachian region of Kentucky.
Last year KHIC made a total of 155 SBA and USDA loans totaling $21,488,737.
Since its founding in 1968, KHIC has made loans or investments totaling $701,606,403, to a total of 1,109 small businesses, creating or maintaining a total of 29,303 jobs.
The Lending team consists of seven folks:
Mark Bolinger, Executive Vice President
Joey Carter, Investment Analyst
Edgar Davis, Business Development Specialist
Joyce Hickey, Financial Analyst
Genia Hoffman, Documentation Manager
Tyler Lake, Investment Analyst
Birdie Watkins, Investment Analyst
Paragon Bank Awarded Coleman Rural Main Street Lender of the Year
Paragon Bank’s SBA Team
Paragon Bank closed $43 Million in SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans in 2024.
“Our banking model is rare. We focus on friendliness, relationships, helping you grow your business, and making life better in the communities we serve. The seeds that would become Paragon Bank were planted in the early 2000s. After a flurry of bank acquisitions and mergers, home-grown, independent banks nearly vanished from the Memphis landscape. This concerned veteran banker Robert Shaw who believed that small and mid-size businesses deserved a local financial partner who really cared about their success.
“Shaw hand-picked respected bankers, men and women who shared his vision, and together they founded Paragon in 2004. Their mission was and always has been to deliver friendly, personalized service and state-of-the-art solutions to help businesses grow. They clearly succeeded because the bank’s neighborly, civic-minded style has attracted legions of loyal customers, resulting in now seven banking center locations in four states across the southeast and numerous awards for being the area’s best community bank and a best place to work.
“Today, we’re still rooted in — and rooting for — the communities we serve.”
The bank has funded 3 USDA loans for $25 million the past four years.