WASHINGTON, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) commends Wells Fargo for providing more U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan dollars for America’s small businesses than any other lender during the first half of the current federal fiscal year. The financial services company recently announced that they had approved over $548 million in SBA 7(a) loans for America’s small businesses from Oct. 1, 2011, through Mar. 31, 2012.
“Adequate access to capital remains the single most important element, critical to the growth of small businesses,” said USHCC President and CEO, Javier Palomarez. “We commend Wells Fargo for working to meet the financing needs of entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and appreciate the continued commitment to provide growth opportunities to American businesses during these challenging economic times.”
Wells Fargo’s announcement comes with the launch of their Small Business Appreciation Celebration: a company-wide outreach effort designed to thank small businesses across the nation by providing them with discounted financial services. The celebration coincides with National Small Business Week (May 20-26) and the various local and national SBA events taking place to honor the American small business community as the engine of the U.S. economy.
“During a time of year when we celebrate the importance of small business to our nation’s economic recovery, it’s rewarding for us to meet the financing needs of thousands of small business customers,” said David Rader, head of SBA Lending for Wells Fargo. “SBA loans are an important financing tool for many small business owners and we want to do everything we can to help small businesses stay competitive and grow.”
Wells Fargo also is the No. 1 SBA 7(a) lender in dollars in 12 states for the first 6 months of federal fiscal year 2012: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming. In addition, Wells Fargo is the No.1 SBA 7(a) lender in number of loans in nine states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, South Carolina and Wyoming.
“Our friends at Wells Fargo understand the need for continued investment in our small business community,” said USHCC Chairman, Nina Vaca. “By providing more SBA 7(a) loan dollars than any other lender, they have once again affirmed our shared values when it comes to supporting small business. Both the USHCC and our partners believe that by helping small businesses – nearly 3 million of which are Hispanic owned – we can help spearhead our nation’s economic recovery.”
About the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that combined generate in excess of $465 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers and business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit http://www.ushcc.com .
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.
SOURCE United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
