Lendistry Entered Into a $50M Credit Facility From East West Bancorp (EWBC) for Affordable Small Business Lending

BREA, Calif., October 22, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​Lendistry, the leading fintech Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced today that East West Bancorp entered into a $50 million credit facility for the expansion of Lendistry’s inclusive and affordable small business lending platform.

“East West Bancorp is an industry leader in structured credit, and working with SVP Mark Parsa has been very rewarding. This credit facility is a significant milestone for Lendistry that will boost inclusive and responsible small business financing to business owners and underserved communities nationwide,” says Lendistry CEO Everett K. Sands.

Unique among its fintech and community development peers, Lendistry is profitable and has a sustainable business model with an average loan rate of 10.3% across its SBA, term, line of credit, and CRE product lines. Ranked second nationwide in CDFI SBA Community Advantage lending, more than 70% of Lendistry’s small business owner borrowers are women, minorities and veterans or operate in underserved areas. To date, Lendistry has partnered with more than 29 institutional partners that include leading investment and retail banks, foundations, fintech companies, and governmental entities.

“Lendistry is a remarkable finance company that utilizes technology in providing much-needed capital to those small businesses and communities that have been predominantly neglected by traditional lenders. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Everett Sands and the management team at Lendistry over the last few months. We look forward to supporting the company’s growth and expanding our relationship with Lendistry over the coming years,” said Mark Parsa, Senior Vice President of East West Bank’s Structured Finance Group.

Lendistry is minority-owned and offers an inclusive small business lending program that emphasizes outreach to diverse business owners and underserved areas. Certified by the United States Department of Treasury as a CDFI and a Community Development Entity (CDE) and as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Lendistry can secure key sources of long-term and low-cost capital such as the New Markets Tax Credit, CDFI Bond Fund, and loan guarantees. Headquartered in a downtown Los Angeles Opportunity Zone, Lendistry will expand its place-based strategies by opening offices in Baltimore and Philadelphia Opportunity Zones in 2020.

East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company with total assets over $42 billion and is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "EWBC." The Company's wholly owned subsidiary East West Bank is one of the largest independent banks headquartered in California. 

Source: Lendistry