In an incredible display of agility, round-the-clock hard work, and dedication to small businesses, Maryland-based Capital Bank, N.A., successfully secured $234 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for 1,156 applicants, all but a few of which are in the DMV area.
"We were able to move quickly in leveraging technology to create a secure portal for our applicants to submit their application and documentation," said Capital Bank CEO Edward Barry. "We are proud to have helped so many small-business applicants obtain PPP loans, especially since the Bank's PPP loan volume represents slightly more loans than the Bank would ordinarily make over a two-year timeframe," said Barry. "At Capital Bank, we went all-in to help our applicants get through this difficult time."
Herculean Effort
Before PPP application procedures had even been published by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Bank's staff launched an all-hands-on-deck customer-service strategy focused on helping small businesses.
- Their first step was to develop, in the space of only five days, a secure, easy-to-use portal to which PPP applicants could upload their SBA-required documentation.
- Bank staff worked long hours, including nights and weekends, to ensure that the applications were successfully submitted to the SBA for loan authorization, even as SBA developed and refined its procedures and technology.
- After the first round of PPP funding was exhausted, the Bank prepared rapidly for the second round, automating the workflow, streamlining the process and communications adding efficiency to the PPP application process.
Outsized Impact"Our shared philosophy empowers us to achieve the unthinkable," explained Barry. "It's what makes us perfectly aligned to help small businesses who are dedicated to uplifting their own communities. As nearly 50% of the applicants weren't even clients prior to applying, the PPP experience showed how our bank really punched above its weight class to defend our regional economy."
Capital Bank's efforts had a positive effect not only for small business owners, but for those companies' more than 36,000 employees, as well as the many families and communities they help support. With an average loan size of $203 thousand, businesses received loans for as little as $2,000 to $4.5 million.
All of the applicants Capital Bank secured loans for are small businesses as defined by the SBA. Capital Bank's years of small-business lending experience, with staff that specializes in SBA loans, contributed to its PPP success. The Bank has been among the top two SBA lenders, by volume, in the DMV region since 2014, ascending to #1 last year.
Pivoting to ForgivenessCapital Bank is already turning its attention to helping its customers qualify for PPP loan forgiveness. The Bank is using an online portal to simplify the forgiveness process for its customers. And is ready to adapt to any changes that may arise as a result of the signed Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act.
"Our message to business owners is simple — not only during the COVID-19 crisis, but year-round," said Barry. "We're here for you, no matter what."
About Capital Bank
Capital Bank, N.A., is the eighth largest bank headquartered in Maryland. The Bank has been providing financial services since 1999 and now operates branches in five locations in the greater Washington, D.C./Baltimore metro area. The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital Bancorp, which had assets of approximately $1.5 billion at March 31, 2020; its common stock is traded in the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "CBNK."
