Alma Bank has had an extraordinary growth in its four years of serving the community as a start-up bank. On September 20, it will formally announce that it has met all the conditions set by the U.S. Treasury Department and has received $19 million from the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) to offer loans for commercial and industrial purposes.
The bank qualified to receive the small business lending and expects to have loans ready to offer for buying or expanding a business. Kirk Karabelas, chairperson of Alma Bank’s board, said, “We believe in small business. Our largest shareholder, Steve Valiotis, is a visionary. He himself came from Greece to America with very limited means. Now, several decades later, he is a billionaire.”
Shareholders started the bank with a $50 million dollar capitalization. Today, its assets have grown to $720 million and are expected to reach over $1.5 billion by 2014.
Being a part of the community and believing in the power of small business, even in today’s economy, is the basis for the bank’s lending. Now, having been selected to offer more loans, the bank is ready to help other people follow their dreams. After all, Steve Valiotis is a 21st century Horatio Alger. Perhaps they will help many people to achieve that kind of success.
For more information about the loans or other Banking needs, call 718-267-ALMA.
The SBLF is a $30 billion fund that encourages lending to small businesses by providing Tier 1 capital to qualified community banks. It was established as part of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Barack Obama signed into law.
The program will promote local economic growth and job creation while enabling banks to better extend credit to community customers by maximizing the incentives that the fund provides.
Under the Jobs Act, loans up to $10 million to businesses with up to $50 million in annual revenue qualify for small business lending, and include commercial and industrial loans and loans secured by owner-occupied nonfarm, nonresidential real estate.
Alma Bank has been an active small business lender in the New York metropolitan area that it serves since its inception in September, 2007.
Alma Bank operates 10 branches in New York and New Jersey and has a plan for further expansion in the next five years. For more information, visit www.almabank.com.
