SBA lending to Washoe County totals $13 million during fiscal year

Washoe County companies received 63 bank loans guaranteed by a Small Business Administration program to help start-up and existing small businesses during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, the federal agency's Reno district office reported last week.

David Leonard, the SBA's senior area manager in Reno, said loans totaled $13.04 million, just a bit less than 20 percent of the total loan volume statewide under the SBA's 7(a) loan program.

Another nine SBA loans totaling $527,500 were underwritten in Carson City. Douglas County businesses nailed down eight loans for $1.9 million, and two SBA loans totaling $15,000 were made to Lyon County businesses.

Statewide, the SBA said it made 270 loans totaling $67.53 million during the just-completed fiscal year.

Thirty-seven lenders made loans in Nevada guaranteed by the SBA program. Wells Fargo led the banks, making 48 SBA-guaranteed loans totaling $17.3 million during the year.

In each of the three years before the recession began, SBA loans statewide ran about $160.8 million annually, and between 60 and 70 lenders wrote SBA-guaranteed loans in the state each year.

A separate SBA program that extends guarantees for long-term financing of fixed assets such as real estate or equipment saw seven loans totaling $5.8 million in Washoe County in the fiscal year that ended in September.

Two more of the so-called "504 loans" totaling $1.5 million were made for projects in Lyon County, and one loan for $267,000 was made through the program in Douglas County.

Statewide, 39 loans totaling $47.4 million were made through the fixed-assets program.

Nevada State Development Corp. was the leading lender in that program, participating in 21 deals totaling $10.6 million.

Among commercial banks, Nevada State Bank was the leader statewide, making 14 loans totaling $8.29 million through the 504 program.

In the years before the recession, 504 loans statewide ran from about $90 million to $100 million a year.