BANKING

Preferred Provider: Orange National Bank, responding to the crash in mortgage refinancing, is beefing up its business lending instead.

The bank, based in Orange, has become a preferred lender under the U.S. Small Business Administration. That means it can make loans to small companies without first going to the SBA for approval to have 70% of it insured by the government.

The bank, which began its SBA lending department in 1991, should now be able to speed up the approval process for business loans, said its president, Kenneth J. Cosgrove.

Last month, Orange National closed its mortgage brokerage subsidiary, ONB Mortgage Corp. and dismantled its mortgage banking division. Cosgrove said the boom in home loan refinancings went bust and sales of homes have not increased.