David W. Glidden, President and CEO of Liberty Bank, today proudly announced the Liberty team received two awards this week from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the unwavering support they’ve provided minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses in Connecticut.
Liberty Bank was presented the following Eagle Awards during SBA’s 2020 Virtual Annual Lenders Meeting: Minority Lender of the Year Award and Veteran Lender of the Year Award. The award represents the lending assistance they provided minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.
SBA recognized and publicly thanked Liberty for their continued lending support and guidance they provided minority-owned and veteran-owned small businesses and for utilizing other SBA programs to help Connecticut’s small businesses community gain access to capital.
Leveraging their strong relationships with external community partners, Liberty Bank conducted extensive outreach to minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned small businesses to raise awareness and eligibility of SBA programs.
During the ongoing pandemic, the Liberty team worked closely with small businesses – including minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses – to help guide them through all phases of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); streamlined its internal process for submitting an online PPP application through the Liberty Bank; and hosted a series of training sessions and webinars designed to provide small business customers added PPP assistance.
Since the first round of funding for PPP assistance became available on April 3, 2020, Liberty Bank successfully secured $314 million in PPP loans for about 3,600 small business customers and non-customers. Liberty Bank’s support of these small businesses continues today as they help them complete the loan forgiveness phase of the program.
“I want to publicly thank my teammates for their hard work and unwavering commitment to serving the small business community in Connecticut,” said Glidden. “From our commercial lenders and business banking officers to our community development team, back-office staff, and our branch teammates, we always stand ready to ensure Connecticut small businesses have the lending assistance, access to capital and banking guidance they need.”
“And we will remain focused on proactively reaching out to minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned small businesses to provide the financial lifeline they need now more than ever before to keep their doors open and employees working,” Glidden added.
Liberty Bank
Established in 1825, Liberty Bank is Connecticut’s oldest bank, with over $6 billion in assets and 60 banking offices throughout the central, eastern, western and shoreline areas of the state. As a full-service financial institution, Liberty offers consumer and commercial banking, home mortgages, insurance, and investment services. Named ‘Top Workplace’ by the Hartford Courant for nine consecutive years, Liberty maintains a longstanding commitment to superior personal service and unparalleled community involvement. www.liberty-bank.com.