Surry Business

Surrey Bank & Trust has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “North Carolina Community Bank Lender of the Year” for the fourth time in the past five years.

During the fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007, the Mount Airy, N.C.-based bank was also the most active community bank lender in the state of Virginia.

The North Carolina Community Bank of the Year award goes to the most active SBA lender among North Carolina’s community banks (those with less than $1 billion in assets). In the past fiscal year, Surrey Bank made 45 loans totaling $5.7 million in North Carolina. Of those, 42 loans totaling $3.9 million were made to small businesses in Surry and surrounding counties, making Surrey Bank the most active lender in the Piedmont Triad area for the fifth consecutive year.

Surrey Bank also led Virginia’s community banks in loan activity with 28 SBA loans totaling almost $2.7 million to small businesses in Patrick and surrounding counties.

“We are proud to honor Surrey Bank as the 2007 North Carolina Community Bank of the Year,” said SBA North Carolina District Director Lee Cornelison. “Surrey Bank is a great example of how a lender can use SBA loan programs effectively to help more small business customers.”

Ron Bew, Richmond SBA District Director, said, “Improving access to capital in Southside Virginia has been a long-term goal of our office. Surrey Bank’s strong commitment to SBA lending programs will facilitate much-needed economic growth and create jobs. We are pleased that Surrey Bank & Trust is committed to serving the small business community in Southside Virginia, which is clearly demonstrated by the 28 loans approved in Virginia this year.”

Surrey Bank & Trust’s senior vice president and chief lending officer, Peter Pequeno, said, “As a community bank, our success is directly tied to that of our communities. SBA loans are one of the tools Surrey Bank uses to promote economic development in the counties where we do business. Our local government and economic development officials want to foster entrepreneurship to offset recent job losses. By providing access to capital, Surrey Bank & Trust helps support area entrepreneurs.”

Pequeno noted that securing adequate capitalization is one of the biggest obstacles facing small business owners.

“Using SBA and other government-guaranteed loan programs — in addition to conventional commercial loan products — gives us greater flexibility to help business owners obtain the capital they need,” he continued. “That financing makes it possible for those employers to start, retain or expand employment, thus contributing to the area’s economic vitality.”

Surrey Bank & Trust is the only locally-owned bank doing business in Mount Airy and Pilot Mountain in North Carolina. The bank also serves Patrick and neighboring counties in Virginia and recently began construction of a new, larger branch building in Stuart, Va.

The bank is one of the few community banks with SBA Preferred Lender status. That status streamlines the lending process by allowing the bank to authorize eligible SBA loans on behalf of the SBA.

Surrey Bank & Trust is consistently looking for ways to improve its services to the business community, said John R. Canosa Jr., assistant vice president and manager of the U.S. Government Lending Division.

In recent years, the bank has expanded its participation in SBA loan programs to include the Export Express loan program and the Export Working Capital Program, both designed to help businesses involved in exporting goods or services, and the Patriot Express program designed to help those who have served or are serving in the military.

Surrey Bank & Trust has Mount Airy offices at 145 N. Renfro St., 1280 W. Pine St. and 2050 Rockford St. It operates branches at 653 S. Key St. in Pilot Mountain and 303 S. Main St. in Stuart, Va.

Surrey Bank is a subsidiary of Surrey Bancorp, which is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board® under the symbol SRYB.OB.