These SBA lenders gave Wisconsin firms the most 7(a) loans in FY20
By Sari Lesk – Reporter, Milwaukee Business Journal 
U.S. Bank granted the greatest number of traditional 7(a) loans to Wisconsin businesses in fiscal 2020.
The 7(a) program is the Small Business Administration’s main and most used traditional lending program. During the most recent fiscal year, the program funneled about $460 million to businesses in the state through 976 loans. The SBA’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
U.S. Bank provided 97 traditional 7(a) loans, totaling about $13.6 million, according to SBA data. The institution, based in Minneapolis, holds the largest share of deposits in the Milwaukee region.
Fiscal 2020 was an unusual year for SBA lending, given the agency’s role in administering the Paycheck Protection Program. Between April 3 and Aug. 8, the SBA oversaw the Covid-19 relief program and disbursed $525 billion to businesses across the country.
The PPP falls under the 7(a) program, but loans approved through the PPP are not included in the traditional lending figures. The SBA has not released loan-level data through the end of the program, but U.S. Bank was the third top lender in Wisconsin through the PPP’s original end date of June 30. At that point, the bank had approved 4,008 forgivable loans for Wisconsin businesses.
Byline Bank, based in Chicago, gave the second highest number of traditional 7(a) loans this year at 53. By dollar volume, Byline Bank was Wisconsin’s top traditional 7(a) lender, granting businesses close to $56 million in loans.
Overall, traditional SBA programs provided about 1,300 loans for Wisconsin businesses this year totaling about $666.5 million. The figures include loans through the 504 program and microloans.
The number of traditional loans is roughly comparable to fiscal 2019, but the value of the loans increased about 18%.
Federal Covid-19 relief programs directed additional financial assistance to Wisconsin businesses. The PPP served about 89,600 firms in the state with $9.9 billion in funding. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program added $1.9 billion through about 37,670 loans. In addition, about 67,000 businesses in the state received cash advances for disaster loans, totaling $252.6 million.
Between Covid-19 relief programs and traditional loans, the SBA reports it provided about $12.8 billion to Wisconsin firms.
About Byline Small Business Capital
Byline Bank’s Small Business Capital team specializes in government guaranteed lending nationwide, with loan production offices throughout the Midwest and in Southern California. Distinguished by the SBA as an “SBA Preferred Lender,” Byline Bank is a top 5 SBA lender in the nation and is the number one SBA lender in Illinois and Wisconsin. Byline Small Business Capital also specializes in USDA lending across the country. For more information, visit: www.bylinebank.com.
About Byline Bank
Headquartered in Chicago, Byline Bank, a subsidiary of Byline Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BY), is a full-service commercial bank serving small- and medium-sized businesses, financial sponsors, and consumers. Byline Bank has approximately $6.5 billion in assets and operates more than 50 full-service branch locations throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. Byline Bank offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking products and services including small ticket equipment leasing solutions.
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