PNC Bank, N.A., a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: PNC) has opened its first small business loan office in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area in an effort to expand PNC Bank's small business services to entrepreneurs in the corridor. The Pittsburgh-based financial services organization has a strong heritage of deploying government-sponsored lending products and services across the mid-Atlantic states it serves in order to help entrepreneurs finance and grow their businesses.
"PNC Bank chose the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., corridor because we believe the bank has a proven track record in the government-sponsored lending that is needed to make a difference for small business owners in these growing markets," said Steven J. Smits, vice president of commercial lending, who will lead the effort. "PNC Bank listens to its customers and is structuring programs to meet those needs."
PNC now has strong government-sponsored lending programs in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. For the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2000, PNC Bank was the top lender in Pennsylvania's PennCAP program, which is designed for entrepreneurs who otherwise might not be able to obtain financing.
"At PNC Bank we believe that these programs represent vital investments in local businesses and in the communities in which they are situated," added Smits, whose office will be in Columbia, Md. "PNC Bank is committed to helping entrepreneurs expand their own businesses and become successful."
Under Smits' direction, Small Business Administration (SBA), 7(A) and 504 Loan Programs will be offered.
Smits, who joined PNC Bank to open the new office, has extensive experience in government-sponsored lending and is a longtime resident of the Baltimore region. Prior to joining PNC Bank, Smits was vice president of commercial lending with FCNB Bank serving the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. In that role, Smits was regional SBA lending coordinator and Mid- Atlantic Business Finance Company's Maryland SBA 504 lender of the year in 1999. He also played an instrumental role in developing, implementing and managing FCNB's first formalized asset-based lending collateral monitoring program. Prior to FCNB Bank, Smits spent two years managing the monitoring department of Deutsche Financial Service's (DFS) asset-based lending unit. While at DFS, Smits managed the company's first multiple bank loan participation program.
Smits serves as director and treasurer of the Montgomery County Bankers' Small Business Loan Fund, Inc. in Rockville, Md., and volunteers his time as a consultant and lecturer at the Maryland Small Business Development Center in Columbia. He received his master's degree in business information systems from Johns Hopkins University and his bachelor's degree in finance from Saint Vincent College.
For more information about PNC Bank's government-sponsored lending group, call (410) 740-8718.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), headquartered in Pittsburgh, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations, providing regional banking, corporate banking, real estate finance, asset-based lending, wealth management, asset management and global fund services.
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SOURCE: PNC Bank, N.A.
Contact: Maureen Brown of PNC Bank, 412-768-2752, or
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