When M&T Bank acquired Wilmington Trust, Jayne Armstrong, who headed the Delaware Small Business Administration office at the time, said the entry of the company would be a plus in bolstering activity in SBA loans. Armstrong now works out of the Washington, D.C. office.
The loans are federally backed, but are issued by lenders.
M&T has lived up to the prediction. The nation’s sixth largest issuer of SBA 7(a) loans ranked first in Delaware in total loans, with 53 loans for $4.8 million or about $100,000 per loan. Loans of that size are seen as vital in aiding many small companies.
It was the fifth year in a row that Delaware had seen a gain in SBA loan activity.
The loans helped create more than 500 jobs in a state that has seen a less-than-dramatic recovery from the recession.
M&T was also the leading SBA lender in the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas, as well as its hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. M&T remains the state’s largest bank and has been running advertisements on its commitment to Delaware.
Nick Lambrow, Delaware regional president and Jim Donovan, Business Banking Market Manager, said SBA lending is part of the corporate culture of M&T with branch managers receiving training on the loan programs.
Donovan said M&T is seeing activity across the board and throughout the state. Two areas that are seeing strength are agribusiness and the medical area. One client mentioned in the interview was the Cultured Pearl, a well-known Rehoboth Beach restaurant and an example of the small businesses that are aided by program.
