HOUSTON & FORT LEE, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unity National Bank of Houston, N.A. (“Unity”) the only African American owned banking institution in Texas and one of only two African American owned banking institutions with a national bank charter, has been authorized by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a designated lender in the next round of the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP Second Draw Program”). The SBA Paycheck Protection Program began April 3, 2020. On December 27, 2020, Congress extended the program to March 31, 2021, to ameliorate the financial burden put on small businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During round one of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program, Unity Bank served nearly 500 small businesses and saved about 4,000 jobs. Our new partnership with Cross River will enable us to utilize technology to expand our reach and serve even more small businesses in need,” said Laurie Vignaud, Unity National Bank’s President & CEO.
Just as it did during the first distribution, Unity is once again ready to provide a lifeline to minority-owned and small business owners financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the initial round of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program, Unity served nearly 500 small businesses and saved about 4,000 jobs. Now, Unity has partnered with Cross River Bank (“Cross River”) to reach even more small businesses in the PPP Second Draw Program. Utilizing its streamlined technology and comprehensive lending platform, Cross River originated nearly 200,000 PPP loans during the initial round of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program, saving close to 1 million jobs.
“We are celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by announcing this historic partnership with Unity National Bank, to help increase access to the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Phil Goldfeder, SVP Public Affairs at Cross River. “Our average loan size of $33,000 during the first round of PPP was the absolute lowest among leading lenders and demonstrated our desire to help the smallest businesses across the country, and with this round we hope to do even more.”
Cross River combines the trust and reliability of a bank with the cutting-edge innovation of a technology company. Unity’s partnership with Cross River offers small businesses the banking and technology services necessary to procure loans quickly and efficiently under the PPP Second Draw Program.
As an additional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Unity and Cross River will also partner to provide virtual financial literacy programming around COVID-19 relief and recovery.
For more information and to apply, please visit: www.crossriversba.com/unitynationalbank
About Unity National Bank
Unity, originally founded in 1963 and later chartered in 1985, is the only African American owned banking institution in Texas and only one of two African American owned banks with a national license. Banks like Unity popped up across the nation during the 1960s civil rights movement. Unity’s leadership remains committed to the vision of providing banking services to historically underserved businesses and individuals and developing the bank into a dynamic banking franchise, serving a diverse customer base.
About Cross River
Cross River is a fast-growing financial services organization that merges the forward-thinking offerings of a technology company with the established expertise of a bank. Founded in 2008, Cross River is a New Jersey state-chartered FDIC insured bank.
