Midwest BankCentre Expands SBA Loan Expertise

For more information, contact Marie Casey at Casey Communications, Inc., 314-721-2828.

ST. LOUIS (Sept. 29, 2021) --- Midwest BankCentre has strengthened the

SBA lending expertise on its commercial banking team with an expanded six-

member staff offering more than 100 years of SBA lending experience. The change

comes as demand picks up for SBA loans among small businesses in the region.

“Small businesses across the nation received a vital shot in the arm with

Paycheck Protection Program loans and stimulus funding,” said Midwest

BankCentre Chairman and CEO Orvin T. Kimbrough. “Now as our economy shows

signs of growth, entrepreneurs are positioned to tap into the many advantages of

SBA loans to make strategic acquisitions or buy real estate to expand their

businesses.”

The bank’s national SBA lending program, rolled out through its digital

banking division, is led by Hakim Kassam, who has been named senior vice

president of SBA lending. He partners locally with Midwest BankCentre Vice

President-SBA Loan Officer Tim Weinhold, who offers more than 20 years of SBA

loan experience. The bank’s SBA team performs all sales, credit and closing

functions internally, expediting loan decision-making and funding.

“Our expanded SBA expertise provides right-sized expertise and personalized

attention to help the Main Street businesses that drive our economy and create

local jobs,” said Midwest BankCentre Chairman and CEO Orvin T. Kimbrough. ”Our

knowledgeable and nimble team supplements our commercial lending officers in

getting small businesses the financing needed for growth.”

Kassam, who has focused on SBA lending for nearly 25 years, most recently

served as senior vice president and managing director of the SBA lending division

of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank with headquarters in Miami Lakes, Fla. In his

six years with BankUnited, he grew a national SBA division from 30 to 65 employees

working in 15 states. Under his leadership, BankUnited became the 16

largest SBA

lender in the nation.

Among U.S. firms employing fewer than 500 employees, 32% recently

reported challenges with credit availability, according to the 2021 Small Business

Credit Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank. The survey assessed small business

conditions among U.S. firms employing fewer than 500 employees, which represent

99.7% of all employer establishments in the U.S.

Ray LeBlanc, business broker with Murphy Business Sales in St. Louis, said

SBA loans are key to the business mergers and acquisitions that can drive small

business growth. “With SBA loans, buyers get in for a smaller down payment,

particularly when a seller is willing to consider partial down payment financing,” he

said. “The SBA gives buyers 10 years to pay off the loan or up to 25 years when it

includes a substantial real estate asset. This compares very favorably with the

terms of most commercial business loans through a bank, which generally amortize

over three-, five- or seven-year terms. The SBA’s longer repayment terms reduce

the buyer’s monthly loan payments.”

Richard Quicke, president of Air Alliance Team, a mid-sized residential and

commercial mechanical contracting firm serving metro St. Louis, obtained an SBA

loan through Midwest BankCentre for his 2019 acquisition of Holiday Heating and

Air Conditioning. “The longer repayment term for SBA loans gives you some

https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/medialibrary/FedSmallBusiness/files/2021/2021-sbcs-employer-firms-report,

page 10.

breathing room through the up and down cycles of a business,” he said. “I looked at

conventional financing, but the very competitive interest rates and longer-term

payback made the SBA loan option a better fit in every way.”

The bank’s SBA loan efforts build on the network of support Midwest

BankCentre provides to small businesses and the $286 million in SBA PPP loans

made to small businesses during Rounds 1 and 2. The unmet need for small

business banking services was demonstrated by the fact that 25% of its PPP loan

applicants were new to Midwest BankCentre.

Providing adequate capital to help small businesses in the St. Louis region

grow is a key focus of Midwest BankCentre. “The very favorable terms of the SBA’s

7(a) and 504 programs give small businesses a tremendous advantage in making

strategic acquisitions and facility and equipment investments,” Kimbrough said.

“We are pleased to have built such an experienced team to quickly pre-qualify and

navigate the SBA loan process in order to make these loans more accessible to the

firms they are meant to help.”

In 2020, Midwest BankCentre ranked seventh among St. Louis area SBA

lenders with loan production of $7.22 million, excluding Paycheck Protection

Program (PPP) lending.

# # #

SBA 7(a) Loans

SBA 7(a) loans provide long-term financing for businesses with a net worth of less

than $15 million and average net income below $5 million. The fixed or variable

rate loans fund up to $5 million, spanning up to 25 years for commercial real estate

and up to 10 years for other purposes. SBA 7(a) loans can be used to buy an

existing business, purchase the interests of a partner, expand to another location,

and/or buy real estate or equipment.

SBA 504 Loans

SBA 504 loans have similar qualifiers but offer increased loan amounts and

expanded capital access via nonprofits designated by the SBA as a Certified

Development Company. CDCs work with the SBA and participating lenders to

finance small businesses that generate community economic development. SBA

504 loans can be used to purchase real estate or buildings and for investing in new

equipment or upgrading a building or real estate.

Midwest BankCentre

Midwest BankCentre’s current assets exceed $2.2 billion and deposits total more

than $1.7 billion. A mainstay of the greater St. Louis community banking scene

since 1906, the bank employs a staff of about 280 working at 17 bank branches in

the City of St. Louis, St. Louis, Jefferson and St. Charles counties in Missouri and at

one loan production office in St. Clair County, Illinois. It empowers people, enables

business and energizes neighborhoods through the strength of its financial

services, including personalized consumer and business banking, business cash

management, mortgage lending, home equity loans, financial planning and

investments, insurance and digital banking.

Midwest BankCentre bank is a local leader in the St. Louis Regional Financial

Empowerment Coalition (formerly the St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force) and

its Bank-On Save-Up St. Louis initiative. Since 2001, Midwest BankCentre has

consecutively achieved the Bauer Financial 5-Star Superior financial rating each

quarter. It has been recognized for its success in bringing mainstream financial

services to unbanked and underbanked citizens in the region and other diversity

and inclusion contributions with the 2019 Community Commitment Award from the

American Bankers Association Foundation and the 2018 National Community Bank

Service Award from the Independent Community Bankers of America