Pittsburgh Finance Jobs Created by Increased Lending
One company's commitment to improve lending will create more Pittsburgh finance jobs and allow small businesses to hire more workers.
Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. recently announced that it will offer $4 billion in lending to small businesses in the Midwest during the next three years. About $360 million of that investment will go to small businesses in Pittsburgh, which could affect 2,500 companies.
Huntington is currently the eighth-largest bank by deposits and the fourth-largest Small Business Administrator lender in Pittsburgh. The company plans to add more than 12 business bankers in the city, more than doubling the current number.
Huntington will add a total of 150 business bankers throughout its markets to aggressively call on small businesses, according to an article by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The company said it expects this effort to result in 27,000 loans to small businesses during the three-year period.
"Small businesses are the engine for our economic recovery and future job growth in the Midwest," Steve Steinour, chairman, president and CEO of Huntington, said. "We know that small businesses generate 65 percent of new jobs, and we want to help our area recover by jump-starting small business hiring.
"It's clear that healthy small businesses foster growth and vitality in the communities they serve," he continued. "We view this commitment as a significant opportunity as this stage of the overall economic recovery."
Another plus - Huntington has expanded its criteria for loan applications, which should attract the many businesses that suffered losses during the recession, disqualifying them from applying for loans. Now, if a business is experiencing a turnaround with several quarters of profitability and can provide reasonable projections, Huntington will include those results when evaluating loan applications.
Huntington also plans to launch small business CEO roundtables in Midwestern cities so Steinour can directly hear about companies' needs and challenges.