Twenty-five years ago, a stroke of good luck helped launch my career as a small business lender. Since then, it’s been my privilege to champion the small business sector and all the ways it contributes to our country’s economic vitality. I’ve been rewarded with tremendous professional and personal satisfaction as I help entrepreneurs secure the financial resources they need to flourish in local, regional and national markets.

Today, my enthusiasm is firing on all cylinders as The Bancorp Small Business Lending forges new inroads as a national lender of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.

Mapping an exciting strategy
Golf legend Arnold Palmer once remarked that “The road to success is always under construction.” At The Bancorp, we want to help pave the way for small business owners on their road to success. Fueled by this commitment, we’re refining our lending platform to provide the highest service levels to clients and referral sources while continuing to expand our loan offerings. We’ve mapped out an exciting strategy that we want to share with the industry at large:

• The Bancorp will remain true to our roots as an SBA lending generalist. We’re dedicated to promoting the ideals of the SBA program to help quality, eligible businesses, no matter the project, location or industry. We continue to support all types of term lending needs, from franchise startups to commercial real estate construction to debt recapitalization and any qualified use of loan proceeds.
• While we hone our generalist strategy, we have also identified several industries where we have specific expertise and are working to grow our portfolio: 
• Funeral Homes:
  We believe our knowledge and flexibility in this space will contribute to the industry with a strong SBA 7(a) and 504 product mix. 
• Senior Living:
  As a balance sheet lender, we are well-positioned to provide resources for growth, refinance and expansion for both family-run and larger assisted-living projects through the SBA programs.
• Self-Storage, Logistics and Transportation:
  As a leader in Commercial Fleet Leasing, The Bancorp views these as related industries and a natural progression for us to provide SBA financing for purchase, construction and capitalization needs.
• Financial Services Companies:
  Through our newly developed SBAlliance™ program, The Bancorp can assist lending institutions and financial services companies with their SBA lending needs. From lenders who don’t have SBA capabilities to banks that seek to sell their 504 first mortgages, The Bancorp can support those activities and any additional SBA lending needs. As a branchless bank, we remain non-competitive to our wholesale partner institutions while providing additional revenue opportunities that do not impact their balance sheet.
• In support of these strategies, we continue to build a first-class team of small business specialists with expertise in credit operations, sales management and business development.
• Franchise financing has been the wellspring of our early growth, and The Bancorp will continue to be a top lender in this strategic space. Franchisors and clients can be assured that we will maintain a laser focus on supporting strong and stable concepts that are primed for national growth.
• The Bancorp is a balance sheet lender, a position which enables us to portfolio SBA loans we make to our borrowers. The ability to keep our loan portfolio intact means our borrowers benefit through more competitive pricing, terms and flexibility. We’re one of the few institutions among our peer banks that has a multi-billion-dollar balance sheet at our disposal. The ability to retain our loans further reflects our long-term commitment to our borrowers.

Small business financing and SBA programs in particular are indispensable to American entrepreneurship.
I’m sure you have SBA success stories that reflect the hands-on value these programs bring to the marketplace. Whether you’re a lender, a referral source, a vendor or a small business owner, it’s important that we never lose sight of all the ways that our public/private partnership fuels America’s economic engine.