Russ: Hi, I’m Russ Capper and welcome to another episode of Green Bank Business Builders. Our topic today is SBA loans. And I’m very pleased to have as my guest, Kevin Coffman, Executive Vice President in charge of SBA lending here at Green Bank. Kevin, welcome to the show.

Kevin: I’m excited to be here.

Russ: You bet.  So, tell us Green Bank’s strategy with SBA lending.

Kevin: So, the strategy, really, is just to provide access to small businesses. We provide a lot of access to capital for these guys and we take it very seriously here in Texas. We do a lot of loans in SBA and that’s kind of our strategy is to help these guys out.

Russ: How many people here are focused on SBA lending?

Kevin: We have a dedicated team, about eighteen people. Ten people dedicated to loan officers that are in the three different markets that we serve; Central Texas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.

Russ: SBA lending is kind of different than regular, standard bank lending, isn’t it?

Kevin: It’s a little bit different. It’s typically for small businesses that they need access, they don’t have access to capital. We come in, we have a loss share provision with the SBA that gives us a little bit more comfort to do those type of loans. So, it’s a little bit different, a little bit challenging, there’s a little bit more hair on it.  We kind of know it, we understand it, and we’re pretty good at it.

Russ: Well, that leads me to this. What differentiates Green Bank when it comes to an SBA loan?

Kevin: We have a lot of experience on our team. We have probably a hundred plus years of combined experience with our team. And what we do different is we take different products; so, we have express loans that are 7(a)s, there’s 504s, there’s USDA B&Is, and we’re able to combine all those programs together to provide the best service for the client. So, instead of just coming out and doing a small term loan for a client, we’ll do a term loan, we’ll do an express loan, we’ll do a line of credit for them, we’ll combine all the products that we have accessible to us to get that client the best products.

Russ: Is your typical client usually already banking here at Green Bank, or sometimes they’re coming in new?

Kevin: Both; new, old, we use clients that have been here banking with us and we take their conventional products and refinance their debt, and do something else for them, but a lot of our clients are new.  They’re doing different startup companies, they’re doing acquisitions, they’re doing building purchases for construction, and we’re able to help those guys out.

Russ: Do they usually come to you just because they’re looking for financing, or are they coming to you knowing, no, I’m looking for an SBA loan.

Kevin: Typically, financing. They come in, they don’t know exactly what they want or what they need, and we’re able to go through each of their balance sheets and find out exactly what product that would best serve them, combine a product to make it work for them in a better way that they understand it, and provide more cashflow for them on a month to month basis.  That’s really our primary goal, is to provide the best access to capital for them that they can get the best cash flow going for them.

Russ: Kevin, I really appreciate you sharing your perspective with us.

Kevin: I appreciate it, thank you.

Russ: You bet.  And that wraps up my discussion with Kevin Coffman, the Executive Vice President of SBA lending, here at Green Bank.  And that wraps up this episode of Green Bank Business Builders.