Chase Remains Top SBA Lender in U.S.

The bank loaned more than $12.6 billion to about 300,000 small businesses during the first three quarters of 2011.

For the second year in a row, Chase is the No. 1 Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States. The bank approved more than $12.6 billion in loans to about 300,000 small businesses during the first three quarters of 2011. With these numbers, Chase surpassed the goal it set earlier this year to increase its small-business lending commitment by 20 percent to $12 billion.

"Small businesses continue to fuel the economic recovery," said Michael Cleary, CEO of business banking at Chase, part of New York-based JPMorgan Chase ($2.3 trillion in assets), in a news release. "Companies we loaned money to were able to expand and hire more people. Being the top SBA lender for the second year in a row shows our commitment to these businesses and the communities we collectively serve."

The SBA lending is in line with Chase's effort to help small businesses grow, which also includes technology innovations released for business customers over the past year. New releases include QuickDeposit for remote deposits, the Instant Storefront e-commerce solution, the Jot mobile app for tracking business expenses and free fraud-protection services.