Monday, November 27, 2006

US Bank's SBA Loans Increase by 38% in 2006

Minneapolis, Minnesota
November 21, 2006
BusinessWire


U.S. Bank increased its SBA loan total by a record 38 percent for fiscal 2006, according to Small Business Administration (SBA) information.


Through its SBA Division, U.S. Bank provided a record 4,703 SBA guaranteed loans to small businesses nationwide.


It also saw a three percent increase in dollar volume over the previous year, according to the SBA. Both totals are U.S. Bank records. Nationally, U.S. Bank ranked second among SBA bank lenders and third overall among both bank and non-bank SBA lenders in terms of loan dollar volume, according to the SBA. U.S. Bank ranked sixth nationally in overall loan volume.
"Again in 2006, our record success is primarily due to the attractiveness of our easy-to-access SBAExpress loans," said David Bartram, president of U.S. Bank's SBA Division.


"Additionally, our Fees Paid offer has become a key advantage in our SBA real estate loan program and thousands of our borrowers took advantage of it this past year." U.S. Bank ranks in the top five in number of loans in 18 of the 21 SBA districts where it operates.


It ranks first in Kansas City, St. Louis and Portland; second in Colorado, Minnesota, Seattle/Spokane and Wisconsin SBA Districts. Additionally, U.S. Bank ranks third in Cleveland, Columbus/Cincinnati, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Sacramento and Tennessee districts. In terms of loan dollar volume, U.S. Bank ranks in the top five in 16 of the 21 SBA districts where it operates.


It ranks first in Kansas City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco; second in Colorado, Minnesota, Tennessee, Nevada and Seattle/Spokane districts. Through SBA Division, U.S. Bank operates 24 specially designated SBA Business Centers nationwide. U.S. Bank is part of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB).


With assets of $217 billion, U.S. Bancorp is the 6th largest financial holding company in the United States. The company operates 2,467 banking offices and 4,943 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, , trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.


"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding U.S. Bancorp's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties.


For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.