As the 2011 fiscal year concluded, Arvest Bank finished as the most prolific Small Business Lender in Arkansas.  Records reported that Arvest provided more than $42 million in SBA loans. See the following release below for additional details regarding this year-end success in helping small businesses with their financing needs.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—Records of the Arkansas District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the fiscal year 2011, which ended September 30, show that Arvest Bank was the top SBA lender for the state of Arkansas at fiscal year-end.

According to the records, Arvest provided funding for more than $42 million in SBA loans produced in Arkansas in 2011, which is a 16.67 percent increase over the $36 million the bank generated in SBA loans in 2010. 

“Arvest is proud to be the state’s largest SBA lender. It is a privilege to help small business owners in towns and cities across the state obtain the capital they need to grow, expand, hire and succeed. The SBA loan program is essential in making it possible to meet these needs and we plan to continue to grow our SBA loan portfolio,” Jackie Randle, senior vice president and SBA loan administrator, said.

The SBA is a government agency that provides support to small businesses, such as education and preparedness to apply for loans through banks or financial institutions.  The SBA does not make direct loans to businesses, but acts as a guarantor on loans.  Its mission is “to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small business and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters.”

Arvest attributes much of the SBA loan growth to the availability of the bank’s local lenders and those lenders’ knowledge of their individual markets. By working in partnership with the SBA programs, Arvest’s lenders can help business owners participate in programs they might not have known about on their own.