Milwaukee:  On September 8, 2011, Wisconsin SBA District Director Eric Ness presented Park Bank, Milwaukee, First Vice President Jerry Schlitz with a plaque in recognition of Park Bank’s attaining Preferred Lender status with the Small Business Administration.  

The Preferred Lenders Program (PLP) is another step in SBA’s process of “streamlining” the procedures necessary to provide financial assistance to the small business community. Under PLP, SBA delegates loan approval, closing, and most servicing and liquidation authority and responsibility to these carefully selected lenders. They are also required to have the ability to develop and analyze complete loan packages and a satisfactory performance history with SBA. Park Bank Milwaukee is one of these selected lenders.

Jerry Schlitz, First Vice President, Senior Commercial Banker stated, “Park Bank is proud to receive the Preferred Lender Status with the SBA.  As a bank focused on serving the needs of small to mid-sized businesses in Southeastern Wisconsin, we believe it is extremely important to have resources like the SBA to meet the needs of these businesses. PLP status allows us to be even more responsive to the needs of business owners, which we believe is a critical factor in today’s market.”

For more than 95 years, we have been taking business banking to a higher level: true partnership. We’re one of the largest independent commercial banks in Southeastern Wisconsin and we have succeeded by consistently putting our customers’ interests first. This organic growth has given us the resources and experience to serve the needs of small- to medium-sized businesses, and the responsiveness and flexibility to handle the personal needs of successful individuals.

“We are pleased to congratulate Park Bank for achieving Preferred Lender status,” said SBA Wisconsin District Director Eric Ness.  “PLP status will enable the Park Bank to provide a faster turnaround time in responding to needs of small business entrepreneurs seeking SBA government guaranteed financing.”

 Additional information about SBA’s programs and services is available at SBA’s Web site: www.sba.gov and Wisconsin’s SBA Website: www.sba.gov/wi