Thomas Chavez to Lead the Bank’s New SBA Lending Team

Sunwest Bank, a privately held commercial bank serving entrepreneurs, corporations, family offices and real estate developers throughout the Western United States, is announcing plans to deploy more than $45 million in new SBA loans in 2018. Thomas “TJ” Chavez recently joined Sunwest as a senior vice president and will be responsible for leading the bank’s new SBA team and achieving its ambitious lending goals.

“I’m excited to be part of an organization that is well-capitalized and very flexible. The bank is led by a very entrepreneurial management team, which understands what it takes to run a successful and fast-growing business. Their mindset, energy, and ability to move quickly on lending decisions will be our biggest differentiator in the SBA lending space,” says Thomas.

The bank’s new SBA group will concentrate its efforts on deploying capital to businesses that are 2-7 years old and are achieving $1M – $30M per year in revenue. The team is not industry focused but does have expertise lending to manufacturing, distribution, trucking and logistics, 3PLs, defense contractors, technology, and publishing companies.

The new group of six seasoned bankers includes Terry Berg, Marilyne Patton, Jamie Bryan, Natividado Maneja, Andrew Ayrouth, Lindsay Phelan and Thomas “TJ” Chavez. Some members of the team moved to Sunwest from top 20 SBA lenders in Southern California and top 100 SBA lenders in the country. Chavez, who was most recently with Union Bank, plans to help his new group make their mark on both of those lists. The team’s charter to deploy $45M in new loans in 2018 will mean prompt credit decisions and capital deployment to entrepreneurs in the Western United States.

“The number one complaint I hear from businesses who deal with SBA loan shops is the slow process. We are a high-touch group that can make a yes or no credit decision within 3-5 business days and get capital deployed within 30-60 days. That means a lot to entrepreneurs who place a high value on their time and money, and frankly, it’s a huge competitive advantage for our group,” adds Chavez.

Sunwest Bank, founded in 1969, is a privately held commercial bank with over $1.1 Billion in assets and headquartered in Irvine, CA, with operations in California, Arizona, Idaho and Utah. We are an entrepreneurial business bank with a long tradition of providing excellent service to entrepreneurs, privately held corporations, family offices, small-medium size business and real estate developers throughout the Western United States. Sunwest Bank is a Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. More information about Sunwest Bank and its full line of products and services is available at SunwestBank.com.