Governor Polis and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is recognizing banks, credit unions and Community Development Investment Funds (CDFIs) for their work throughout 2020 to process Paycheck Protection Program loans for Colorado businesses.
“The efforts of Coloradans have allowed us to build back stronger. Our lending institutions processed 196,258 loans, providing more than $15 billion dollars in funds with an average loan size of $77,144, 14.31% larger than the national average,” said Governor Jared Polis. “This money saved thousands of jobs and helped power the Colorado comeback.”
The bank that did the largest number of loans was First Bank which provided 18,695 loans.
“Once we heard about the SBA’s plan for the Paycheck Protection Program, we didn’t hesitate to step in, knowing this was a lifeline for local economies and small businesses,” said Jim Reuter, CEO of FirstBank. “We set out to help as many organizations as possible, and within the first 72 hours of launching PPP, our team had several thousand applications and worked around the clock to process them all. We’re extremely proud that in the end we funded over 20,000 PPP loans, providing $1.4 billion in economic relief.”
The Governor and Frances Padilla, District Director for the Colorado Small Business Administration, will recognize lenders during two calls on August 30 and September 13.
Padilla praised the state’s numerous lenders of all sizes for the “herculean” effort they put forward since April of 2020 in helping to save Colorado’s small businesses.
“This recognition of our state’s extensive network of lending institutions is well deserved and appreciated,” Padilla said. “Banks, credit unions, CDFIs, and mission-based lenders were the key to ensuring access to the Paycheck Protection Program and that critical aid made its way to nearly 200,000 awarded applicants. While many entities are to be commended for their tireless work over the last 18 months, our lenders were the difference in the ability for Colorado small businesses to keep their employees on payroll and ultimately to survive.”
The winners were selected by OEDIT in conjunction with the lender trade associations using SBA lender data as of July 1, 2021. The institutions being recognized were divided into seven tiers, based on Colorado Deposits or lender classifications.
Tier 1, $5 billion or more in Colorado Deposits
First Bank
US Bank, National Association
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
Tier 2, $1 billion to $4.99 billion in Colorado Deposits
Bank of Colorado
Alpine Bank
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.
Tier 3, $300 million to $900 million in Colorado Deposits
Timberline Bank
First Southwest Bank
The First National Bank of Las Animas
Tier 4, $200 million to $299 million in Colorado Deposits
Points West Community Bank
High Plains Bank
InBank
High Country Bank
Tier 5, $100 million to $199 million in Colorado Deposits
FMS Bank
Farmers & Stockmens Bank
The Gunnison Bank and Trust Company
Wray State Bank
Tier 6, $50 million to $99.99 million in Colorado Deposits
Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust
American Bank of Commerce
The Bank of Burlington
Tier 7, up to $49.99 million Colorado Deposits
FirsTier Bank
FNB Bank
The Central Trust Bank
Nonprofit Lenders
DreamSpring
Colorado Enterprise Fund
Colorado Lending Source, Ltd.
All Credit Unions
Canvas CU
Premier Members CU
Security Service FCU
Partner Colorado CU
Colorado received a proportionate number of PPP loans relative to market size. Colorado has 2.3% of the nation’s small businesses with fewer than 500 employees and received 1.65% of the total number of loans approved nationwide. The state seemed to have lower demand for PPP loans in 2021 compared to other states, based on our better than average economic recovery from the pandemic.
“Coloradans, by and large, received their vaccinations early which helped to propel our state’s economic recovery,” said Pat Meyers, Executive Director of OEDIT and the state’s Chief Economic Recovery Officer. “We continue to see indicators that our state’s strong economy is rebounding and with the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, we are confident that recovery will continue its upward trajectory.”