For the second year in a row, TD Bank was the largest U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) lender in eastern Pennsylvania, writes Jeff Blumenthal for Philadelphia Business Journal.

M&T and Meridian Banks came in second and third place.

The 7(a) loan program offers financial help for small businesses. It is usually recommended for small businesses purchasing real estate or for those looking to refinance current debt. The maximum loan amount is $5 million.

TD Bank, which is based in Cherry Hill, in 2023 completed 303 loans under the 7(a) program for a total of $30.6 million, according to SBA data. In 2022, the bank completed 161 loans for a total of $10.9 million.

TD Bank also ranked No. 1 in total SBA loans in its Maine-to-Florida footprint for fiscal year 2023.

The bank said it has been more proactive when it comes to SBA lending in the last year as the country slowly recovers from the pandemic. TD has been streamlining the application process through technological advances and the hiring of additional lenders.

Tom Pretty, head of SBA lending for TD said, “People who never thought of SBA lending before are now more familiar with it. They’ve been through it before and hopefully had a positive experience and now might be a little bit more open to the product, even though it is a very different product than a PPP loan.”

Read more about TD Bank and SBA loans in Philadelphia Business Journal.

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