🔒TD Bank steps up its focus on small businesses

After a two-year study, TD Bank is stepping up its focus on small business lending and other services in New England and upstate New York.

“We're adding employees to our small business team and growing small business lending,” Doreen Warren, small business market manager for the bank, told Mainebiz. Based in Portland, she covers Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York.

While the bank plans to add 50 to 75 small business specialists in all, it intends to hire two in Maine by mid-March, she said. The bank defines small businesses as those with less than $1 million in revenue annually and fewer than nine employees.

Small businesses employed about three-fifths, or 278,957, of the state's private workforce in 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. They make up 96.9% of all employers in the state.

Warren said TD Bank is second in 7(a) commercial real estate transactions through the Small Business Administration and third in SBA dollar amount in Maine. From Maine to Florida, it ranks 15th nationwide in SBA lending.

In numbers, TD Bank's SBA portfolio of 7(a) loans in Maine was up 29% from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2016 ended September. Fiscal 2015's $4.66 million dollars ranked it fourth by transactions and fiscal 2016's $6 million lent put it in the No.2 slot. Lending so far in fiscal 2017 is $757,000.

Warren said the bank's goal is to continue expanding its SBA portfolio in Maine and remain a top lender. It also works with the Finance Authority of Maine to guarantee loans.

“We ran a pilot that proves businesses want this [more small business support],” Warren said. The two new Maine employees will be located in Portland and in southern Maine, likely Kennebunk. The new employees will focus on Portland, Scarborough, Kittery, Sanford, Saco, Kennebunk, Biddeford, York, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Windham, Gorham and Standish.

Warren said there will be a couple phases in the small business expansion, starting with the hiring but also adding lending, accounting and other services in a wide range of industries. The bank plans to hold seminars for potential customers to describe its services.

“Maine offers a lot of seasonal products and services, so there are banking opportunities for us,” she said. The bank has many 24-hour locations, and its offices open early and close late, she added.

She said the volume of SBA lending already is picking up in 2017 and is a big focus for the bank.

Currently, loans can only be processed in person or using a fax machine. However, the bank is simplifying the application process by making it digital. It hopes to offer online applications some time in 2017 or 2018, she said.

TD Bank noted that there's a lingering perception that banks aren't lending, but a business owner needs to consider his or her needs and then work with their banker to determine the right type of financing. Sometimes, it might make more sense to pay for short-term needs with a credit care than a loan or line of credit, she said.

TD Bank's focus on small businesses is broad. It also is hiring small business specialists in New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, metro Washington, D.C., South Carolina and Florida.

Added Jay DesMarteau, head of Small Business Banking at TD Bank: “Small businesses are incredibly important drivers of local economies. As bank, we're invested in making a positive impact in the communities we serve, and enhancing how we help local small businesses is an important component of this.”