This post was originally published on this site
Catherine Jooyan, who is U.S. Bank’s lending chief for Small Business Association loans in California, says she’s looking for a strong year in Orange County.
The bank’s SBA division last year arranged $20.4 million in OC loans for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, a slightly less 2023. That put the company at No. 6 on this year’s Business Journal list of the largest SBA lenders.
Some of the bank’s OC clients for SBA loans include well-known names including Chaupain Bakery of Laguna Hills and school bus provider JFK Transportation of Santa Ana.
U.S. Bank has worked with Chaupain on loans to get equipment and to open multiple retail locations.
“Recently, they just opened up their fourth location in Laguna Niguel, and I was lucky enough to be at the grand opening of that business,” Jooyan told the Business Journal on April 25. “It was amazing. The line was out the door.”
U.S. Bank, with local offices in Newport Beach, helped JFK expand with an SBA loan in 2020, as well as additional SBA loans to aid the company in the pandemic and later to finance new corporate offices.
Industrial Manufacturing, Retail
“There’s a lot of small business in Orange County,” Jooyan said. The local businesses include industrial manufacturing and retail.
Jooyan said firms in Anaheim, Orange, Huntington Beach and Irvine Spectrum have always been active in the sector. “We continue to see really strong interest from clients in Orange County,” she added.
“We are well positioned to help them grow in 2025.”
Around 60% to 70% of the loans are for buildings, either an acquisition or refinancing. Most of the remainder revolve around business acquisitions or partner buyouts.
Last year U.S. Bank was one of the top SBA lenders in the region.
“We’re tracking or ahead of that for this first quarter,” according to Jooyan, whose full title is senior vice president, SBA regional sales manager.
Navigating Market Volatility
She says she helps the companies “navigate the market volatility we’ve been seeing the last few months of the year.” President Trump’s imposition on high tariffs on imports and occasional backing down have led to wide swings on U.S. and foreign stock exchanges.
The target group “encompasses usually businesses that have been around for a couple of years at least. And they’re showing cash flow and that sort of stuff.”
Jooyan said Kelly Loeffler, the former U.S. senator and new SBA administrator, “seems to have a good focus and know small business.”
“I feel like it’s positive changes, and I think it will help in the long run with the program,” according to Jooyan.
“We see positives in some of the changes at SBA, and we’re seeing a lot of continued interest from clients.”
Research Director Desmond Celo contributed to this report.