Hawai‘i’s top small business-friendly bank is City Bank according to a new report issued today by the Office of Advocacy of the SBA. This ranking is part of the comprehensive “Small Business and Micro Business Lending in the United States,
Hawai‘i’s top small business-friendly bank is City Bank according to a new report issued today by the Office of Advocacy of the SBA.
This ranking is part of the comprehensive “Small Business and Micro Business Lending in the United States, 2002 Edition,” the seventh in an annual series.
Designed to help small firms in their search for capital, the report also analyzes bank lending patterns across the United States and across commercial bank sizes.
It found that during the continuing economic recovery of 2001-2002, small business lending by banks showed only moderate increases.
However, the number of the smallest business loans (under $100,000) increased by 45 percent, which seems to be a result of the promotion of small business credit cards by large bank holding companies.
“This report is one tool small businesses can use when they shop for loans,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “It also provides policymakers with data they need to make informed decisions on financial matters.”
The ranking, located in table 3A of the report, is based on Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (call reports), which banks submit to their federal regulators.
Call report data is considered the most useful when analyzing a bank’s commitment to small business lending in the state.
The report does not rank bank participation in SBA guaranteed loan programs.
The call reports and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reports provide the data for the full study. Both the call report and CRA data provide useful information, but they are not comparable.
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President.
It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.
For the full report, visit the Office of Advocacy website at http://www.sba.gov/advo.
