JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it more than doubled the amount of loans it offered through the Small Business Administration in fiscal 2010, which made the banking company the most prolific lender in the agency's program for the year.
The New York company said Monday that it delivered 3,386 loans in fiscal 2010, more than double last year's volume, as it reclaimed the top spot in number of loans. It lent a total of $434 million, triple last year's amount and making Chase the second-biggest lender by dollar amount.
Wells Fargo & Co. remained the biggest lender by dollar amount for the second straight year, with more than $800 million in loans delivered this year, according to data from the SBA.
Loans to small businesses have been in the spotlight during the economic downturn as politicians and the public pressure banks to increase lending. Banks have argued that small businesses' creditworthiness has not been up to new, tighter credit standards; losses on the loans were steep during the crisis. JPMorgan Chase and other big lenders said recently that some small businesses had become more eager for loans, though the tight standards remain important.
JPMorgan Chase also said Monday that it had approved more than $250 million in small-business loans that were rejected the first time around.
"Second look" loans have been one response from the banking world to the pressures for more loans.
