Bank of America Retains #1 SBA National Lender Status

Bank of America today announced that it has once again been named the top Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the nation, issuing 11,911 SBA 7(a) loans totaling $412.7 million to entrepreneurs during the 2005 SBA fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30.

This marks the eighth consecutive year that Bank of America or Fleet National Bank (now part of Bank of America) has earned the #1 SBA lender title.

The average Bank of America SBA loan amount was $34,650. The Company has strategically sought to keep its average loan size small so that more small businesses would have access to capital.

“Bank of America’s SBA #1 status is just one example of the bank’s leadership in lending to small businesses,” said Benito Almanza, Bank of America government lending product executive. “Serving the nation’s small businesses with conventional, SBA and card-based loans and lines of credit is critically important as they are often the lifeblood of towns and cities across America. They provide employment, necessary products and services, and they support so many aspects of a community’s quality of life.”

Rob Aulebach, Small Business Banking executive, noted that the bank’s overall mix of lending products “is a clear message of our Company’s commitment to strengthen the communities where the bank and its small business customers operate. We believe our deposit, SBA and conventional lending, card and cash management products are the driving force behind the fact that more small businesses choose Bank of America as their financial service provider than any other bank.”

Bank of America does business with nearly one in every five small businesses in its 29 state (plus the District of Columbia) footprint — a number totaling nearly four million clients, making Bank of America the largest small business bank in the country.