In Brief: Keycorp Expanding SBA Processing in Northwest

lending, Key Bank of Washington is expanding its Small-Business Loan Center in Tigard, Ore., to process loans for Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. The unit of Keycorp funded 96 Small Business Administration-guaranteed loans in the period from Oct. 1, 1994, to Sept. 30, 1995, the SBA's fiscal year, to rank third in small-business lending in the three-state region behind City Bank of Lynnwood, Wash., and Seafirst Bank in Seattle. Key Bank more than doubled its SBA loan production over the same period last year, continuing its small business market expansion. "We exceeded our annual production in March of this year," said Charles A. Foisie, senior vice president and manager, small-business lending for Keycorp's Northwest Region. "We're expanding our staff to give relationship managers in the field the support they need to spend time with their customers," said Trudy O'Donnell, vice president and manager, Oregon Small-Business Lending Group, and manager of the loan center. At the heart of Key Bank's strategy is the delivery of small business services through its branches, using branch managers and small-business managers to bring experts in all facets of financial services directly to small-business customers. Keycorp is the nation's third-biggest lender to small businesses.