As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to help businesses during the severe economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, financial institutions administered more than 85,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans to Wisconsin companies, totaling about $9.88 billion.
Out of all U.S. states and territories, financial institutions serving Wisconsin businesses processed the 18th most PPP loans and the state ranked 19th for total loan dollars dispersed, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The SBA recently made public a list of every company that received a PPP loan of $150,000 or more, as well as the lenders who administered their loan. The SBA did not disclose the exact amount of each loan and instead grouped recipients by loan category.
BizTimes Milwaukee broke down SBA’s data to highlight which financial institutions processed the most PPP loans for Wisconsin companies. The list’s top five include local industry leaders BMO Harris and Associated Bank, which does not come as a surprise given their asset size.
However, multiple out-of-state fintech companies including Kabbage, Inc. and Cross River Bank also top the Wisconsin PPP loan administration chart, which is ranked by loan volume. What the SBA’s data does not specify is whether these fintech companies are issuing PPP loans themselves or if in-state banks are acquiring their services to administer the loans, said Kent Belasco, a former executive at First Midwest Bank and director of Marquette’s banking program.
Processing PPP loans may be right in a fintech company’s wheelhouse given their strong background in technology built on speed and access, Belasco said.
“I could see where (fintech companies) look at this and see this as an opportunity,” Belasco said. “Strategically, that could put them in good stead to be a competitor with the banks going forward.”
The financials institutions that processed the most PPP loans in Wisconsin (listed by loan volume):
| Financial institution |
# of PPP loans administered to Wisconsin businesses |
| BMO Harris Bank |
5,462 |
| Associated Bank |
5,324 |
| U.S. Bank |
4,008 |
| Nicolet National Bank |
2,499 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank |
2,264 |
| Johnson Bank |
1,933 |
| Cross River Bank |
1,932 |
| Bank First |
1,789 |
| Kabbage, Inc. |
1,666 |
| Waukesha State Bank |
1,560 |
| Summit Credit Union |
1,396 |
| Celtic Bank Corp. |
1,314 |
| Citizens Community Federal |
1,214 |
| Tri City National Bank |
1,073 |
| State Bank of Cross Plains |
1,071 |
| Peoples State Bank |
1,014 |
| Compeer Financial |
978 |
| Bank Five Nine |
959 |
| Town Bank |
959 |
| Royal Credit Union |
897 |
| Community First Credit Union |
868 |
| Investors Community Bank |
859 |
| IncredibleBank |
844 |
| Monona Bank |
726 |
| Oregon Community Bank |
715 |
“The purpose of the PPP was to primarily help smaller businesses and that’s exactly what Wisconsin’s banks did with the program,” said Rose Oswald Poels, Wisconsin Bankers Association chief executive officer and president. “With 85% of PPP loans in Wisconsin going to local, small businesses, this really highlights the impact Wisconsin banks have in their communities.”
A list of businesses in southeastern Wisconsin that received the largest PPP loans
can be found here. The largest loan a company could receive through the PPP is $10 million.
The SBA’s data set was broken down by loan size, with PPP loans less than $150,000 accounting for 85 percent of all loans dispersed to Wisconsin-based businesses.
