Massachusetts was one of the top Small Business Administration lenders in the country in fiscal year 2018.

The Massachusetts SBA district office reported that it approved 2,126 loans for more than $349 million through it 7(a) loan guaranty program, which is supported by a network of 177 lenders including 16 credit unions. The smallest 7(a) loan was $3,000 and the largest was $5 million.

The Massachusetts SBA District also approved 270 loans, collectively worth more than $171 million through its 504 Loan Program. Third Party loans which are part of the 504 projects, totaled in excess of $231 million. Under the SBA 504 program, loans ranged from $56,000 up to $5 million.

In FY18 the Massachusetts District Office finished top six nationwide in number of loans issued that were less than $50,000, total loan approvals, number of 7(a) loans approved and number of 504 loans approved.

“One-Hundred-and-Seventy-Seven active SBA lenders in our Massachusetts network are supporting job creation and economic growth in our local communities every day,” SBA Massachusetts District Director Robert Nelson said in a statement. “Together this fiscal year 8,058 jobs were created and 9,047 jobs were retained in the Commonwealth in a collective effort to build a vibrant and vigorous economy. We thank all of our partners and friends for working with the SBA to ensure equitable capital access.”

In FY18, the Massachusetts District Office saw a decrease in the number of approvals for the 7(a) and 504 programs combined, but an increase in dollar amount of 6.19 percent or $30 million.

Eastern Bank was the #1 SBA 7(a) lender in Massachusetts for the 10th year in a row with 565 loans totaling $43.29 million and the top third party 504 lender with 29 loans totaling $10.87 million. Eastern is also the #1 SBA lender in New England.

TD Bank ranked as the second highest producer of 7(a) loans with 227 approvals totaling $14.2 million and Citizens Bank ranked third with 144 loans totaling over $21.14 million. Completing the list of top ten SBA lenders in Massachusetts are Independence Bank, Leader Bank, Berkshire Bank, Salem Five, Santander Bank, Rockland Trust and Cambridge Savings Bank.

Bay Colony Development Corp. was SBA’s highest producer of 504 loans in Massachusetts with 93 loans totaling $51.51 million, while New England Certified Development ranked first with 60 loans approved, totaling $52.89 million. Granite State Economic Development Corp. ranked second in volume with 76 projects totaling $43.05 million.

Nationally, there were approximately 60,353 7(a) loans originated, with a total dollar amount of $25.37 billion in FY18. The SBA’s 504 loan program issued 5,874 loans for a total dollar amount of over $4.75 billion.