WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today honored Citibank and Byline Bank as the 2018 SBA Export Lenders of the Year, respectively, for large and small lending institutions during a ceremony at the 11th annual SBA Export Lender Roundtable in Washington, D.C. Citibank Senior Vice President Don DiMartini, and Byline Bank Small Business Capital President Bruce Lammers received the awards on behalf of their institutions. During the event, both lenders were recognized for their efforts to increase access to capital for United States companies, providing international trade financing to small businesses.
SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said, “I want to congratulate and thank Citibank and Byline Bank for helping small business exporters expand, create high-wage jobs for American workers and advance small business innovation.”
U.S. exports are important to the nation’s economy, and 98 percent of all exporters are small businesses. SBA export lenders play a pivotal role in helping small business exporters to compete and succeed in the global market. During fiscal year 2017, the SBA guaranteed $659.6 million in financing to small business exporters, supporting more than ten thousand jobs.
Citibank, established as the City Bank of New York in 1812, is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the United States, operating over 2,400 financial centers around the world. In fiscal year 2017, Citibank made a strong commitment to ensure that its small business exporters had access to the U.S. SBA’s Trade financing program. As a result, Citibank reported $27.5 million in export lending support.
Byline Bank is an Illinois-based bank with 52 locations and more than $3.4 billion in assets. Opening its doors in 1978, Byline Bank uses the suite of SBA’s core export loans, which resulted in an increase in their support for small business exporters in fiscal year 2017 to $16.1 million.
The SBA Export Lender Roundtable is an annual event sponsored by the SBA’s Office of International Trade. The event brings together lenders, trade financiers, and trade industry professionals to hear from speakers on topics such as trade promotion, the global economic outlook, developments in trade finance, and SBA's export financing programs. It also highlights the accomplishments of lenders in delivering SBA’s international trade finance programs to small businesses, which are designed to help small businesses develop new markets, finance export transactions, and expand production capacity to meet overseas demand.
For more information about the SBA’s export lending programs, visit www.sba.gov/international.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.