VantageSouth Named No. 1 SBA Lender in the State

Online, April 30, 2012 (Newswire.com) - VantageSouth has been ranked as the No. 1 SBA (Small Business Administration) lender in the state of North Carolina by the SBA. The numbers, which were released in a report by the North Carolina SBA District Office in Charlotte, are as of the end of February 2012.

According to the report, VantageSouth's SBA lending volume production exceeded that of other community banks and larger banks in the state through the first five months of the SBA's fiscal year. As a preferred SBA lender, VantageSouth has the authority to make credit decisions on behalf of the government, thereby expediting the loan process significantly as compared to a non-preferred lender.

"At VantageSouth, we're assembling a best-of-the-best team of banking professionals," said Chris Kwiatkowski, Senior Vice President of Government Lending for VantageSouth. "The success of our SBA team is a testament to that: they are solely dedicated to utilizing the SBA program to deliver success for our clients."

SBA lending is a guarantee loan program aimed to help start-up and existing small businesses in the United States for a variety of business purposes and is designed for credit-worthy borrowers who may have difficulty getting access to financing at reasonable terms. According to Kwiatkowski, one of the most common misconceptions about SBA lending is that these loans are only for very small or failing businesses. VantageSouth's experienced SBA team is helping change that perception.

"VantageSouth is proud to be based in North Carolina and even more proud to help drive small business growth across the state through our SBA lending program," said Steve Jones, President of VantageSouth. "We are able to fill the gap many small business owners find themselves trapped in between the small banks and the 'mega' banks.'"

The most significant changes to SBA lending guidelines in more than a decade went into effect in 2010. These changes resulted in increasing the size of allowable loans and the size of businesses that qualify for these loans, making the SBA program more useful and relevant for more borrowers.

"Ninety percent of the time, clients don't come into the bank asking for a SBA loan; we end up redirecting them to our SBA program after analyzing their financial situation," added Kwiatkowski. "As a business owner, it's important to know there's more help out there than you may think for your small business."

There are currently five VantageSouth branches statewide, including the newest location in Fayetteville that began taking deposits in March. The SBA department is based out of the VantageSouth branch on East Innes Street in Salisbury, with its lending professionals operating across the state. Piedmont Community Bank Holdings, Inc., is the majority shareholder of VantageSouth.

About VantageSouth:
VantageSouth was established in 2006 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC. It currently serves Alamance, Cumberland and Rowan counties and the surrounding areas through five locations: Burlington (two), Fayetteville (one) and Salisbury (two).

About Piedmont Community Bank Holdings, Inc.:
Piedmont Community Bank Holdings, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, NC. Piedmont was formed in 2009 by local businessmen Adam Abram and Scott Custer to build a strong community banking franchise across the Carolinas and Virginia. Abram serves as chairman of Piedmont's board of directors, Steven Lerner serves as vice chair and Custer serves as Piedmont's president and chief executive officer.