JPMorgan Chase & Co. has committed to lend $12 billion to U.S. small businesses this year.
The figure represents a 20 percent increase over its 2010 commitment, the bank said Tuesday. Chase also said it became the No. 1 Small Business Administration lender in America in loans made in fiscal 2010.
“Small business owners are not only our neighbors but also the entrepreneurs that hire half of the employees in the United States,” said Michael Cleary, CEO of Business Banking in Retail Financial Services. “It's critical that we support small businesses as they continue to fuel the economic recovery across the country.”
During the first quarter of 2011, Chase increased its lending 64 percent to businesses with annual sales of less than $20 million. It also put more than 100,000 new loans for working capital, term loans for expansion, commercial mortgages, lines of credit and business credit cards on its books in the first three months of the year.
