Bank Lowers Minimum to $20,000 for SBA Loans

Ventura County National Bank has lowered the minimum amount of its Small Business Administration-guaranteed loans to $20,000 in an effort to expand its financing of mom-and-pop and minority-operated businesses.

“We’ve been edging toward lowering the amount, so we’ve decided to go ahead and formalize the policy,” said William E. McAleer, chairman and chief executive officer of the Oxnard-based bank. “This should clear the way for us to make many new loans to small businesses.”

Previously, the minimum of VCNB’s small-business loans was $50,000, McAleer said.

Besides lowering the loan minimum, VCNB is trying to carve out a niche in small-business financing by launching a minority business group and sponsoring seminars for business operators.

“We hold the seminars in the evening because many of these people can’t get away from their stores and shops in the daytime,” McAleer said. “And we pay for their meal. In some cases, the people can’t afford that.”

McAleer said his bank has made more than $50 million in SBA-backed loans in the past three years. “We sell off most of that in the secondary market, but the amount we’ve kept has become a significant part of our portfolio.”