Banco Popular North America Secures One of the Top Five National U.S. SBA Lender Positions for 2006

November 22, 2006; 03:31 AM

Banco Popular North America (BPNA), one of the nation's premier community banks and a leading U.S. Small Business Administration Lender, announced a 54% surge in small business lending for 2006, leading to a move upwards from 2005's 11th place ranking to place 4th among all national U.S. SBA lenders with $453,254,890 million in guaranteed loan approvals. Additionally, BPNA's Florida SBA Lender rankings for the entire fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, garnered first place in dollar volume with $98MM, an increase of 49% over prior year volume of $65,394,100.

The surge comes on the heels of BPNA's March 2006 launch of Popular Small Business Capital, a division that offers small business financing options to borrowers nation-wide, the addition of 50 dedicated business development officers and growing partnership with Banco Popular branches. Today, BPNA is the only top five national U.S. SBA Lender to offer all SBA products including 7a, 504 and Express services and provides financing ranging from $250K to over $5M.

"The small business community plays a significant role in our national economy, and sustainable momentum leads to future growth," said Roberto R. Herencia, President of Banco Popular North America. "We remain committed to delivering extraordinary service to the small business community and I am proud that our refocus and added resources have yielded significant traction for the Bank. Our success is only possible if we are truly meeting the needs of our small business customers and allowing them the flexibility to overcome their challenges."

"Over the course of 2006, our business development officers took great strides to work side-by-side with customers to identify their needs and address them quickly as our branches provided a true partnership in identifying opportunities for PSBC," Christopher Kwiatkowski, Senior Vice President, Manager PSBC Division. "Relative to the top five peer group, we are thrilled to have experienced the most growth and it is a true testament to our renewed and continued commitment to serve these community catalysts."

For the entire U.S. SBA fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, BPNA ranked 1st in Florida in terms of dollar volume with over $98 million. Overall, BPNA originated $254 million of SBA loans in 2005, 55% more than the $217 million the Bank originated in 2004.

"We are very excited to have achieved the top ranking in the Florida region. This achievement award is a testament to the achievements of small businesses in our region," Brenda Bowers, Vice President, Southeast Regional Sales Manager. "We are confident that our partnership value proposition will continue to be the cornerstone to our success. We remain focused on providing access to capital to further the dreams of our small business customer."

For more information about Popular Small Business Capital, please contact 1-800-250-6968 or visit http://www.popularsmallbiz.com/

About Popular Small Business Capital

Popular Small Business Capital (PSBC) utilizes a custom-tailored approach for each and every small business client, offering SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans, SBA Express loans, business acquisition financing, refinance solutions, commercial real estate financing, franchise and equipment financing. PSBC is a National SBA Preferred Lender.

About Banco Popular North America

Banco Popular North America (www.bancopopular.com), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading community banks in the U.S. with 142 branches in the states of California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Its core businesses include retail and commercial banking services, mortgage and consumer lending, and investment services. Banco Popular was named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2005 by FORTUNE Magazine and ranks among the top 10 Small Business Administration lenders in the country. Banco Popular North America is a subsidiary of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP).