CONCORD, N.H. – On December 8th, the New Hampshire SBA held its annual lender recognition ceremony. The program included welcoming remarks from Mike Vlacich, SBA New England Regional Administrator, Amy Bassett, SBA NH District Director, and Kristy Merrill, President of NH Bankers Association. The event included a panel discussion on helping small businesses grow their businesses globally. The panel was moderated by Joe Raycraft, SBA Export Finance Manager for the New England Region. Panelists included NH small business owner Bill Near, CEO & Founder, Helios Sports of Portsmouth, Donna Ehrler, SVP Commercial Banking NH, Camden National Bank, Adam Boltik, Director of the NH Office of International Commerce and Justin Oslowski, NH Director, U.S. Department of Commerce.
During the event the following lending institutions were recognized:
- Leading Third Party Lender – Union Bank
- Microloan Intermediary of the Year – Regional Economic Development Center
- Underserved Community Lender – Northway Bank
- Emerging Lender Award – Enterprise Bank and Trust Company
- Leading Certified Development Company – Granite State Economic Development Corp.
- Leading 7(a) Microenterprise Lender – Service Federal Credit Union
- Exporting Lender of the Year – M&T Bank
- Credit Union of the Year – Triangle Credit Union
- NH Lender of the Year – TD Bank
“The work our lending partners do here in New Hampshire to support small businesses, and help entrepreneurs get the financing they need to survive, grow and thrive, is truly remarkable,” said SBA New England Regional Administrator Mike Vlacich. “Our lenders are out in their communities every day, reaching businesses where they are, and I want to thank them for everything they have done to keep our small businesses in business.”
Amy Bassett, New Hampshire SBA district director stated, “Our loan programs in FY22 continued to show strong performance with an increase in lender participation. We are fortunate to have long-term relationships with NH banks, credit unions and intermediaries. SBA must have an ongoing commitment from our lending partners to achieve our mission of providing greater access to capital for NH small businesses. We greatly appreciate these leading lenders and are grateful for all our participating lenders.”
In New Hampshire, the results are exceptional with traditional 7(a) and 504 lending supporting $185,965,100 worth of loans to 516 small businesses.
The 7(a) loan program, SBA’s most common loan program, is for working capital, refinancing, inventory and more. Statewide, small businesses received 383 7(a) loans worth $113,734,100. The 504 Loan Program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing for purchasing and renovating land, buildings, and equipment. For FY22, 133 504 loans worth $72,231,000 were approved. These programs are vital in helping businesses access capital needed to start, grow and thrive.
For more information about SBA’s loan programs, financial assistance, and other services, visit www.sba.gov.
