Bank strengthens SBA lending division with nationwide expansion

ST. PETERSBURG — First Home Bank has gone national with its highly successful U.S. Small Business Administration loan program, which was tops among Tampa Bay SBA lenders in 2021.

The St. Petersburg-based bank, according to a news release, has hired a Louisville, Kentucky-based SBA national sales manager, a newly created role filled by Christian Bowles. He previously served as vice president of business development at Q2 Business Capital, where his 2021 loan production surpassed $33 million.

Bowles, the release states, will oversee a national team of SBA lending officers that includes the recently hired Brandon Prather, also based in Louisville, and Brian McClendon of San Diego. Prather and McClendon worked with Bowles at Q2 Business Capital. Their team will also include Baltimore-based Asu Suka, who joined First Home Bank in mid-December as a vice president and SBA lending officer.

“Under Christian’s leadership, I am confident that our nationwide SBA team is well positioned to continue its rapid expansion and deliver on our ambitious production goals for 2022 and beyond,” First Home Bank SBA Division President Tom Zernick states in the release. “Christian, Brian, Brandon and Asu are proven experts, and I look forward to seeing them drive results and greatly increase our overall impact on small businesses nationwide.”

First Home Bank (NASDAQ: BAFN) reported more than $43.7 million in gross revenue in 2020, up from $25.7 million in 2019. It ended the third quarter of 2021 with $943.74 million in total assets. The bank also recently added new branches in Sarasota and Belleair Bluffs.