First National 1870 bank branches have started a small-business online lending program, in which businesses within 100 miles of Santa Fe can apply for loans through the internet.
The program launched in Santa Fe on Nov. 15, and promotions for online lending started Jan. 3.
“The [online] platform is going to allow us to provide more resources to small businesses to help them grow," First National market president Dolores Overton said in an interview.
Small businesses can apply online for conventional loans ranging from $25,000 to $350,000. In the second quarter, Small Business Administration 7(a) and Express Line loans will also be available online.
Businesses can find out if they pre-qualify for a loan within minutes.
Sunflower Bank N.A, the parent of First National 1870, entered into an agreement with SmartBiz to provide an artificial intelligence-powered small-business financing platform to enable the online lending.
“SmartBiz is a robust small-business platform,” said Randy Lucero, First National’s regional business banking leader. “It’s very user friendly. It provides a client the ability to get access to capital very quickly.”
Lucero added approval of an online loan application can occur in 15 to 20 days in contrast to the 30 to 45 days with a traditional loan application.
First National has three branches in Santa Fe, one in Eldorado, one in Los Alamos and others in Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
