Coeur dAlene-based Mountain West Banks small-business lending department here and many of its customers share a common history.


Like the small-time entrepreneur who starts out with big dreams and little money, the banks small-business lending department began in 1996 with a one-person office, four customers, and a goal of specializing in serving small-business owners, says Bob Beck, manager of the department.


Now, the department employs five people, serves 384 customers, and has made Mountain West the largest U.S. Small Business Administration lender in the agencys Spokane districtbased on the number of loans issuedfor the last three federal fiscal years.


The banks continued commitment to the SBA-loan program is fueling the success of the department and its customers, Beck says.


A persons dream can become a reality, he says. We want to be that conduit.


Mountain West completed 66 loans here for about $11 million in the SBAs Spokane district in the 12-month period that ended last Sept. 30, which gave it the second highest dollar amount among lenders. It finished first in both volume and dollar amount in 2002, with 40 loans totaling $9.5 million, and third in dollar amount in 2001, with 33 loans totaling $5.5 million.


The SBAs Spokane district office includes all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Mountain Wests loan volume in the SBAs Spokane district and the SBA loans made by its Boise small-business lending office made it the No. 1 SBA lender in Idaho last year.


It takes a lot more time and dedication to lend to a small entrepreneur, he says. Its a more complicated process.


The banks SBA loan department has tried to simplify that process for customers, streamlining documents and trimming the amount of paperwork needed to apply for an SBA loan, Beck says. The office reviews the loan-application process at least once a year and seeks updates on federal loan regulations to keep the procedure easy and current for customers, he says.


The SBA-lending programs commitment to its customers fits in with the overall business strategy of the bank, Beck says.


We want to become the small-business owners bank, he says. Thats our focus. Thats our customer.


Mountain West started the small-business lending department with the principle that the office would specialize in SBA lending and forgo some other services that commercial lenders typically offer, Beck says. The bank taught Beck the ins and outs of SBA loans and enrolled him in classes with the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), a Stillwater, Okla.-based organization that assists and trains SBA lenders.


The U.S. SBA office here approved Mountain Wests department as an SBA lender and awarded it preferred lender status two years after its inception, Beck says.


He says he participated in Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) presentations and taught classes at North Idaho Colleges Workforce Training Center in Post Falls for about two years. Collaboration with those groups and the SBA office here, plus the NAGGL training, helped provide a foundation for Mountain Wests SBA-lending program, Beck says.


Our success is really from the team working together, he says.


Mountain West has imparted that success to its customers, many of whom came to the bank after they were denied loans by other lenders, Beck asserts.


Weve dealt with customers literally kicked out of a bank with their ideas, he claims.


One such customer, a man from Oregon who wanted to start a bronze foundry in Coeur dAlene, approached Mountain West after area banks turned down his loan request. After Mountain West loaned him money, he worked with a team of community developers and opened his foundry. Today, artisans from across the country come to use the foundrys facilities, and the foundrys owner has crafted bronze artwork on display at the Davenport Hotel, Beck says.


Another Mountain West customer who borrowed $125,000 in 1999 to start a contracting business in the Silver Valley recently borrowed another $1 million and now is one of the largest employers there, Beck says. The bank also helped another customer restructure his debts using the SBA program. The entrepreneur managed to stay in business, retain his employees, and begin turning a profit again, Beck says.


Changes at the SBA office here could make the SBA-lending process more difficult for Mountain West, he says.


The U.S. government has downgraded the Spokane office, designating it as a branch of the SBAs Seattle office, and has eliminated positions here to consolidate SBA activities. Recent talks also indicate that loan officers here and across the nation could lose their jobs as the government consolidates SBA offices into two centers in Kentucky and California, Beck says.


Such consolidation could put the nations SBA program at risk and limit resources for local lenders, Beck contends. For example, Spokane-area lenders might not have an SBA contact familiar with the Inland Northwest and the needs of businesses here, he says.


If you were to call and ask about the SBAs opinion on a manufacturing company in Coeur dAlene wanting to ship to Canada, the person in Kentucky or California wouldnt know what youre talking about, he says. Theyd ask, Wheres that? or How do you spell Coeur dAlene?


If the government completes the reorganization, the SBA would rely more on individual banks to handle loans professionally and ethically, which would increase the potential for bank-fraud scams, Beck asserts.


Mountain Wests SBA-lending program wouldnt be devastated by the SBA changes because it already stays informed and educates its staff about current regulations, Beck says. The bank will continue refining its loan-application process to make it easier for SBA representatives to review, especially if there will be fewer of them in the future, he says.


Mountain West usually can get a loan approval or denial from the SBA within 24 hours, but lately, its been taking the SBA about two weeks to respond, Beck says. The delay probably is being caused by a shortage of government funds available for SBA loans, he says.


Congress has authorized only $9.3 billion of the $16 billion requested for SBA loans for the 2004 fiscal year, which started last October, Beck says. With SBA-loan requests running at $1 billion to $2 billion per month, the delay in the authorization of funds will put a financial crunch on small businesses, he says.


Its very sad that for a small entrepreneur who may want $10,000 to $750,000, the government cant commit to give a loan for two weeks, he says.


Mountain West has $500,000 worth of requested loans waiting for SBA approval, and another $2 million in approved loans waiting for government funding, which represents eight to 10 borrowers waiting for SBA funds, Beck says. The delay of SBA loans could hurt small businesses here, where a $100,000 loan could help fund five or six jobs, he says.


Despite the SBAs funding delays and possible overhaul, Mountain West is looking to expand its SBA-loan customer base, aided by the purchase of Sandpoint-based Pend Oreille Bank by Mountain Wests holding company, Kalispell, Mont.-based Glacier Bancorp Inc., Beck says.


Mountain West Bank employs 220 people and operates 15 branches in Washington, Idaho, and Utah. The bank recently reported total assets of $547 million as of Dec. 31, an increase of about 38 percent from a year earlier. It also reported loans totaling $317 million, up 46 percent.