In more than 30 years of making loans at Susquehanna Bank, Lynn Ozer, now an Executive Vice President who works in Small Business Administration (SBA) lending in the bank’s Pottstown branch, has been through recessions before. She says even during those periods, there are entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity.
It’s why she felt like a proud parent when two Susquehanna borrowers, restaurateurs Marco Lentini of Philadelphia and Brian Conrad of North Catasauqua, participated in a roundtable discussion of entrepreneurs with President Barack Obama on March 16. Lentini, who launched and expand his Gia Pronto restaurants over the last six years, and Conrad, who opened Blue Monkey, both used SBA loans through Susquehanna Bank, based in Central Pa. with more than 200 branches in the Mid-Atlantic.
Despite an impression that banks are not lending, Ozer used the recent presidential attention to let entrepreneurs know that her bank indeed is lending, and she used Lentini and Conrad as examples of how to make an application successful.
“We’re poised to lend, we want to lend,” Ozer says. “We still lend prudently and with an SBA guarantee we can do more than a conventional lender.”
Last year, Susquehanna Bank received a $300 million investment through the U.S. Treasury Department’s Capital Purchase Program and through January, the bank had used the capital to support $148 million in loan growth. To successfully apply for some of the remaining $152 million, Ozer says, entrepreneurs should focus on their business plan (including financial
projections), a down payment or collateral, and a solid credit rating.
“Marco didn’t just come to us with recipes,” Ozer says. “We’re looking for relationships. If we can help someone with a business loan, that’s a great foundation to build a banking relationship.”
Source: Lynn Ozer, Executive Vice President for Susquehanna Bank
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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