(press release) Wells Fargo approves a record $1.24 billion in SBA loans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOwPOTfCvWU

Wells Fargo is No. 1 SBA 7(a) lender in dollars for the fourth consecutive year based on 2012 Small Business Administration data

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2012 – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) approved a record $1.24 billion in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans in federal fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011 – Sept. 30, 2012) and for the fourth consecutive year is America’s leading SBA 7(a) lender in dollar volume. This is the second year in a row that Wells Fargo has approved more than $1 billion in SBA 7(a) loans to small business owners – the only lender to achieve this milestone. An SBA preferred lender in all 50 states, Wells Fargo also is the second largest SBA lender in units extending 3,176 SBA 7(a) loans in fiscal 2012.

“It is very rewarding to know that every SBA loan we extend is helping American small business owners build their businesses for the long term,” said David Rader, head of Wells Fargo’s SBA Lending Division. “At Wells Fargo, we work hard to provide the financing that supports business growth and drives economic development and job creation in every community we serve. The fact that we approved more than $1 billion in SBA loans each of the last two years is a result of that hard work. While we take pride in our market leadership, we’re more proud that we provided the essential capital for thousands of customers across the country to start or invest in a small business.”

In addition to its national ranking, Wells Fargo is the No. 1 SBA 7(a) lender in dollars in 15 states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming – and the No.1 SBA 7(a) lender in number of loans (units) in 10 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Wyoming.

Among the 3,176 SBA 7(a) loans extended by Wells Fargo in 2012 was a loan that helped Bill Hoyt of Tampa, Fla., realize his dream of becoming a business owner. In September, Hoyt acquired Southern Pride Landscaping, a Lakeland, Fla., commercial landscaping firm with eight full-time employees. He financed the purchase with a Wells Fargo SBA 7(a) loan and secured an SBA Express line of credit for working capital.

“The entrepreneurial spirit has always been in my blood, but I needed to find the right opportunity to use my management experience and skills, and the right financing to make it possible,” says Hoyt, a former Navy helicopter pilot who more recently worked for a Florida real estate management company. “In Southern Pride, I found a solid business with strong customer relationships and a reputation for great landscaping service that I could build further as an owner. With Wells Fargo, I had a team of people who worked with me to secure an SBA loan, giving me confidence that I had the capital I needed to be successful from day one.”

For the stories of two more small business customers who worked with Wells Fargo to help them build their businesses, see Wells Fargo’s latest SBA Lending video.

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