Huntington Bank leads in small business loans
4/17/2014COLUMBUS — Huntington Bank announced it now is the country’s top lender of Small Business Administration loans.
In the first six months of SBA’s fiscal year, which ended March 31, the Columbus bank ranked No. 1 in number of 7(a) loans issued, a considerable feat considering Huntington is the nation’s 33rd-largest bank and operates in only six states.
Since Oct. 1, the bank has made 1,804 of the government-backed loans, including 1,050 loans totaling nearly $119 million in Ohio. The SBA guarantees up to 80 percent of the 7(a) loans, which are made by private lenders. The idea is to reduce the lenders’ risk.