Those local companies looking for some seed capital to finance their growth should go knocking on Huntington Bank's door.
The Columbus-based bank plans to make $360 million in loans available to small businesses in Metro Detroit. That will mean about 2,500 more businesses can receive capital infusions over the next three years; not to mention the creation of a few more local banking jobs.
"It could be more than that," says Maureen Brown, a spokeswoman for Huntington Bank. "We are anticipating at least that number."
The loans will be made to small businesses with annual revenues of $15 million or less. It's part of the bank's plan to bump up commercial loans at a time when seed capital is a highly sought-after commodity.
Huntington Bank plans to lend $4 billion to small businesses over the next three years in its 11 markets in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. This cash infusion is also expected to help create 150 new jobs at the bank over that time period.
The bank will make $1.2 billion in loans this year, which is a 45 percent increase over 2009. It expects to do another $1.2 billion in loans in 2011, and then $1.5 billion in 2012.
"We expect that by the end there will be more demand for that," Brown says.
Source: Maureen Brown, a spokeswoman for Huntington Bank
Writer: Jon Zemke
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