CONCORD, NH – On December 11th, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) NH district office held its annual lender appreciation ceremony recognizing the top SBA lenders at the Manchester Historic Association’s Millyard Museum. The award program included welcoming remarks from Amy Bassett, SBA NH District Director, congratulatory remarks by Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), New Hampshire economic and workforce trends updates from Phil Sletten, Research Director at the NH Fiscal Policy Institute, and the presentation of awards by Tuesday Perkins, SBA NH Lender Relation Specialist. The room was at capacity with over 80 lenders participating.
Fiscal year 2023 New Hampshire ‘Lender of the Year’ was presented to TD Bank for 109 approved 7(a) loans for over $10.6 million and Granite State Economic Development Corporation was recognized as the Leading Certified Development Company for approving 51 504 loans totaling $34.8 million.
During the event, the following lending institutions were recognized:
- Leading Third Party Lender – Enterprise Bank and Trust
- Microloan Intermediary of the Year – Regional Economic Development Center
- Underserved Community Lender – Bangor Savings Bank
- Emerging Lender Award – Savings Bank of Walpole
- Leading Certified Development Company – Granite State Economic Development Corp.
- Leading 7(a) Microenterprise Lender – Northway Bank
- Credit Union of the Year – Service Federal Credit Union
- NH Lender of the Year – TD Bank
“We are excited to celebrate our dedicated partners and recognize them for their tremendous efforts in SBA lending during fiscal year 2023. We are grateful for their commitment to utilizing SBA loan programs and providing small businesses with the access to capital they need to grow, thrive, and succeed. SBA lenders provided over $139 million through 470 loans to New Hampshire small businesses with our traditional 7(a), 504 and microloan programs,” said Amy Bassett, NH District Director.
For more information regarding SBA’s guaranty lending programs, please contact the SBA New Hampshire district office at (603) 225-1400 or visit www.sba.gov/nh.
The 7(a) loan program is the SBA’s primary program for providing financial assistance to small businesses and offers guarantees on loans to small businesses of up to $5 million on reasonable terms and conditions. 7(a) loans are commonly used for acquiring land, purchasing equipment, or working capital. The CDC/504 loan program provides capital to small businesses for the acquisition of fixed assets to promote economic development in the form of long-term fixed-rate financing on reasonable terms. Under this program, the SBA authorizes Certified Development Companies (CDCs) to provide financing to small businesses with the help of third-party lenders (typically banks). The maximum loan amount is generally $5 million; however, certain eligible energy-efficient or manufacturing projects may qualify for up to $5.5 million. The Microloan program provides loans to not-for-profit lending intermediaries that, in turn, make loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses on reasonable terms.