Huntington Bank’s $1 billion loan program aims at keeping, growing, attracting Ohio small businesses

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington Bank has committed to making $1 billion in loans over three years — mostly to Ohio small businesses — in partnership with the state.

The public-private lending partnership, called the Ohio and Huntington Job Growth Partnership, is aimed at attracting, retaining and growing businesses and jobs in Ohio, according to a Huntington statement.

Huntington would use its loan money to supplement loans made by Ohio programs, including the 166 Direct Loan Program (pdf), said Jeri Grier, a spokeswoman for the bank. For instance, the 166 program is capped at $350,000. Often businesses need a lot more money to buy land, buildings or equipment. That’s where Huntington could come in.

Or a company may not qualify for a loan from Huntington for the entire amount it needs. In that case, the state loan program could bridge the gap, Grier said. ”That’s how we work together to provide resources that they otherwise might not have access to,” Grier said.

The bank also would market Ohio loan programs, as well as its own, as its contribution to the ”private” part of the partnership with the state. “A lot of times, it’s not as known what the state has to offer” as compared to what the bank has to offer, Grier said.

The state would provide the “public” part of the partnership: Loan programs that give businesses access to working capital, as well as building and equipment money, said Jim Raussen, who was appointed to the new position of director of insurance and financial development for the Ohio Department of Development almost a year ago.

The department is jointly training its employees and those of Huntington on the state’s small business loan programs, Raussen said. The information sharing could lead to “a fast-track approach that Huntington believes will be beneficial to all involved,” he said.

Raussen expects other banks to be added to the partnership, over time. “There will be other partners along the road,” he said.

Larson Medical Products Inc. in Columbus was the first company to get a loan under the partnership announced a month ago. Larson Medical will use a $100,000 working capital loan to replenish money the company used to get research and development certification.

“This partnership will enable us to strengthen our position as an Ohio company with global reach in the medical thermoplastics industry and represent a huge win for everyone involved in this collaborative effort,” Peter Larson, president and chief executive of the Columbus manufacturer, in Huntington’s release on the partnership.