Bank of the Sierra Helps Small Businesses

Bank of the Sierra announced today that it has helped hundreds of its small business customers obtain approval to receive a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan through Thursday, April 30.

As part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the PPP provides loans that are potentially forgivable in order to help small businesses meet their short-term payroll costs and pay certain other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This loan program is administered through the Small Business Administration and permits loans up to $10 million for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Bank of the Sierra’s business-customer base is largely comprised of small-to-medium size businesses throughout California. To date, the average size of PPP loans approved is nearly $120,000, demonstrating that our customers are some of the smaller businesses that the PPP is reaching. Loan amounts approved ranged from just over $1,500 to almost $3.2 million.

“We appreciate the hard work and dedication required to create a thriving business,” said Kevin McPhaill, President and CEO of Bank of the Sierra. “The entrepreneurial spirit that built Bank of the Sierra 43 years ago is the same spirit that drives business owners today. Each of our business customers play an important role in our local economy, so regardless of company size or annual revenue, our PPP application process was designed to assist customers based on application submission order, regardless of size or revenues.”

Bank of the Sierra continues to embrace technology to better serve its customers. The bank implemented a digital PPP application process to streamline processing and improve productivity. A dedicated team of experienced Bank of the Sierra lenders oversee the application workflow, execute manual tasks, and assist business customers through the PPP loan process.

“In the midst of the turmoil caused by the pandemic, I couldn’t be more pleased with the outstanding efforts and contributions by each of our team members,” said McPhaill. “Our teams are working days, nights, and weekends to continue improving our customer experience. Bank of the Sierra will continue to fight for small businesses in the communities it serves.”

About Bank of the Sierra

Bank of the Sierra is in its 43rd year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains a loan production office and an online branch, and it provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center and an SBA center. Bank of the Sierra was recognized as one of the strongest and top-performing community banks in the country with a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial.

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