Pinnacle Loans $107.2 Million to Coastal South Carolina Companies in the Paycheck Protection Program

957 local businesses received a PPP loan from the firm, with 94% under $350,000

Through the end of Wednesday, May 6, Pinnacle Financial Partners has made more than $107.2 million in loans for companies on the South Carolina coast through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This figure represents 957 local businesses that received emergency funding to pay their employees and essential bills during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our goal with the PPP was to help as many companies on the coast as we could so that they could in turn help their employees,” said Mary Garcia, Pinnacle’s market president for coastal South Carolina. “It’s allowed us to contribute a substantial amount of money to our local economies to help survive this crisis and start our recovery. We are grateful for the opportunity to take part.”

The average size of a PPP loan from Pinnacle on the coast is $112,047 with nearly all of them coming in well below $350,000 each.

• Small-dollar Loans Less than $350,000
  • 900 loans worth a total of $59 million
  • 94 percent of the total loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $65,573.
• Mid-size Loans Larger than $350,000 and Less than $2 million
  • 52 loans worth a total of $34 million
  • 5 percent of the total loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $655,014.
• Large Loans of More than $2 million
  • 5 loans worth a total of $14.2 million
  • 1 percent of the total loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $2.8 million.

Firm-wide so far, Pinnacle has originated more than $2.4 billion in loans to nearly 14,000 small businesses, an amount well-above what would have been expected for a bank of its asset size. Statewide in South Carolina, it comes to $144.8 million loaned to 1,317 businesses. Hundreds of associates across the firm worked around the clock to process, review and submit those thousands of applications, clearing 6,000 in the first wave and the remainder once the second round of funding for the program was approved by Congress.

“The need from our clients is tremendous, showing just how far reaching this crisis has been,” said Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and CEO. “Fortunately, the federal government and America’s banks mustered their forces to meet the challenge. An emergency such as this required fast and decisive action that, despite its imperfections, showed how committed our industry is to supporting the economies we serve and the small businesses that drive them. We couldn’t be more proud of our associates for their efforts to give help where it was needed.”

These loans are made from Pinnacle funds and include an SBA guarantee. They are potentially eligible for forgiveness if used by the borrower for required purposes and in the allowed eight-week time period. While the SBA has not yet issued all details on what will be required for forgiveness, Pinnacle is advising clients based on the language of the CARES Act and ongoing guidance from the Treasury Department.

“There are still a lot of questions we don’t have answers for yet, but the intent of the program is pretty clear,” Turner said. “I believe this law was intended to keep workers on payrolls, despite their employers’ businesses being negatively affected by COVID-19, and also to allow business owners to pay their most essential bills. For clients that follow the rules of the program, we encourage them apply for forgiveness. We’ll be here to help them through it all the way to the end.”

Pinnacle has hosted several online webinars for clients on PPP forgiveness. Those videos, along with more guidance, are posted on Pinnacle’s website at PNFP.com/PPPForgiveness.

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. Pinnacle earned a spot on FORTUNE’s 2020 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For^® in the U.S., its fourth consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For seven years in a row.

Pinnacle entered the South Carolina market in 2017 when it acquired BNC Bancorp. Pinnacle continues BNC’s practice of offering community bank service with the resources and sophistication of a larger firm.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $29.3 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 12 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia and Atlanta.

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