Pinnacle Financial Partners is Still the No. 1 SBA Lender in Tennessee

SBA data show $57.2 million in loans statewide, $201.3 million firmwide

Pinnacle Financial Partners is the No. 1 SBA lender in Tennessee for 2021, having issued $57.2 million in SBA loans during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2021, an increase of 92.7 percent from 2020. According to data released by the Small Business Administration, Pinnacle made 46 SBA loans in the state with an average amount of $1.2 million during that period, exclusive of Paycheck Protection Program loans.

“In 2021, we saw a great deal of pent-up demand from 2020,” said David Hoppenworth, Pinnacle’s SBA lending director. “Business owners spent a lot of time during the worst months of the pandemic thinking about the future. Now they feel more comfortable moving forward, acquiring new companies and buying real estate. Those needs are the bread and butter of SBA lending, and they were largely on hold for the better part of a year. Now that many cities are moving toward some version of normal, we see people looking for ways out of their business, a new generation looking for a way in and almost everyone looking at growth.”

Pinnacle was also the No. 2 SBA lender in South Carolina for fiscal year 2021, issuing 29 loans worth a total of $40.7 million; No. 3 in North Carolina, with 55 loans totaling $65.3 million; and No. 39 nationwide. In total, the firm made 167 SBA loans worth a total of $201.3 million, exclusive of Paycheck Protection Program loans, an increase in dollar amount of 111 percent over 2020.

“Pinnacle has always been and will always be a bank for businesses and their owners,” Hoppenworth said. “Government-guaranteed lending is an essential service our clients and communities need. The SBA and teams like ours are always here to help business owners reach the next stage.”

Pinnacle is an SBA preferred lender, which means the bank is able to process, review and approve SBA loan applications largely independent of the government. That designation allows for a streamlined process with a team focused exclusively on SBA loans.

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. The firm is the No. 1 bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2021 deposit data from the FDIC. Pinnacle earned a spot on the 2021 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For^® in the U.S., its fifth consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For eight years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets in 2020.

Pinnacle owns a 49 percent interest in Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG), which provides innovative, hassle-free financial solutions to healthcare practitioners and other licensed professionals. Great Place to Work and FORTUNE ranked BHG No. 1 on its 2020 list of Best Workplaces in New York State in the small/medium business category.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN, in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $36.5 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2021. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 14 primarily urban markets across the Southeast.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.