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GRAND RAPIDS -- Huntington Bank is changing the way it measures small business owners who need a loan.
The Columbus, Ohio, based bank said it will pump an estimated $360 million in a three-year push to broaden loans to small business owners in West Michigan. And it plans to add seven business bankers in the region to help expand the program.
One big change, said West Michigan president Jim Dunlap, is a new lens for looking back.
"We traditionally look back at financial performance over several years. That works in normal times," Dunlap said Monday. "But many companies had substantial stress on their earnings in 2009. If we look backwards like we normally would, very few would be able to qualify under the traditional approach."
Instead, Huntington will look for more recent trends, similar to the reporting option chosen by many local public companies -- improvement from one quarter to the next.
"We put in an underwriting process that allows us to use much more current performance, like Q1 2010, for example," Dunlap said.
Using an estimated loan amount of $150,000, the West Michigan share could underwrite 2,500 local businesses. The push is part of a $4 billion, three-year initiative across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
"We know that small businesses generate 65 percent of new jobs, and we want to help our area recover by jump-starting small business hiring," CEO Steve Steinour said, in announcing the initiative.
Business owners will still need to show a solid plan, recent profitability, and an effort to retool for a changing market. Some loans through the bank will tap federal Small Business Administration programs.
"We participate in about 15 of them in Michigan, to take full advantage where there are matching funds or loan guarantees," Dunlap said. "As of Jan. 1, we were the No. 1 SBA lender in Michigan, in the number of loans and the dollars extended."
Steinour is also coming to Michigan for a roundtable this spring, but he will spend the day in the eastern half of the market. Far more small business owners in that region are wholly dependent on one or two customers in the auto industry, Dunlap said.
By definition, small businesses have under $15 million in sales. And Dunlap has a ring-side seat on the region's business climate. He chairs the Right Place economic development group.
"2009 was a watershed event for everyone," Dunlap said. "Most everybody was suffering when they went through this. "If a small business is coming out of it, they should get credit for that."
The Columbus, Ohio, based bank said it will pump an estimated $360 million in a three-year push to broaden loans to small business owners in West Michigan. And it plans to add seven business bankers in the region to help expand the program.
One big change, said West Michigan president Jim Dunlap, is a new lens for looking back.
"We traditionally look back at financial performance over several years. That works in normal times," Dunlap said Monday. "But many companies had substantial stress on their earnings in 2009. If we look backwards like we normally would, very few would be able to qualify under the traditional approach."
Instead, Huntington will look for more recent trends, similar to the reporting option chosen by many local public companies -- improvement from one quarter to the next.
"We put in an underwriting process that allows us to use much more current performance, like Q1 2010, for example," Dunlap said.
Using an estimated loan amount of $150,000, the West Michigan share could underwrite 2,500 local businesses. The push is part of a $4 billion, three-year initiative across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
"We know that small businesses generate 65 percent of new jobs, and we want to help our area recover by jump-starting small business hiring," CEO Steve Steinour said, in announcing the initiative.
Business owners will still need to show a solid plan, recent profitability, and an effort to retool for a changing market. Some loans through the bank will tap federal Small Business Administration programs.
"We participate in about 15 of them in Michigan, to take full advantage where there are matching funds or loan guarantees," Dunlap said. "As of Jan. 1, we were the No. 1 SBA lender in Michigan, in the number of loans and the dollars extended."
Steinour is also coming to Michigan for a roundtable this spring, but he will spend the day in the eastern half of the market. Far more small business owners in that region are wholly dependent on one or two customers in the auto industry, Dunlap said.
By definition, small businesses have under $15 million in sales. And Dunlap has a ring-side seat on the region's business climate. He chairs the Right Place economic development group.
"2009 was a watershed event for everyone," Dunlap said. "Most everybody was suffering when they went through this. "If a small business is coming out of it, they should get credit for that."
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