Main Street Bank named West Virginia's Top SBA Community Lender

    CLARKSBURG, W.VA. – Judy McCauley, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s West Virginia District Office recently announced Main Street Bank, headquartered in Wheeling, as the Top SBA Community Bank in West Virginia for fiscal year 2009.

    Main Street Bank, through SBA’s guaranteed loan programs, provided funding for 26 small businesses for nearly $1.7 million. The 26 loans represented nearly 17 percent of the total West Virginia SBA guaranteed loan volume for the period of October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009.

    Since the signing of the Recovery Act on February 17, 2009, Main Street Bank has used SBA’s loan guarantee to fund 43 small businesses for a total of $2.85 million as of February 24, 2010. They are also the top producer of SBA’s America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loans in West Virginia having provided 31 small businesses with ARC loans through March 1, 2010 and are “unofficially” credited for making the first ARC loan in the United States.

    Rich Lucas, President of Main Street Bank stated, “Being a community bank, we have been keenly aware of what jobs mean to our area. With the help of the SBA directly through their various loan programs, we have been able to verify 200 jobs were saved or created in the Wheeling area during 2009. The outreach and support from the SBA office has been terrific, and although 2009 was a banner year for us in SBA lending, we have always used SBA resources since our beginnings in 2001. Their programs and services offer a tremendous value for keeping customers in business and people employed.”

    “The West Virginia District Office is proud to be able to recognize Main Street Bank for their outstanding accomplishments in providing capital to the West Virginia small business community,” said McCauley. “Since their creation in 2001, they have always been a strong supporter of entrepreneurship and continue to be a leader among community banks in West Virginia. Their use of SBA’s guaranty loan programs has been unmatched.”

    Selected as West Virginia’s Top Small Business Lender of the Year for 2010 was Huntington National Bank. Both Main Street Bank and Huntington National Bank and their respective representatives will be recognized at the 2010 Small Business Lending Conference at Seven Springs Mountain Resort on Thursday, March 12, 2010.