First Bank SBA, a division of First Bank, announced that it has expanded its SBA business development team.
 
Laura Petty has been hired as an SBA business development officer, according to a news release. In her role, Petty will help business owners across North Carolina and the country obtain financing through the government SBA 7(a), USDA and 504 loan programs.
 
Petty will be based out of the First Bank branch office at 201 Market St. in Wilmington.
 
With 12 years of sales and marketing experience in the banking and lending industries, Petty is an expert at helping small business owners find opportunities to fulfill their goals of ownership or expansion, officials said in the release.
 
“I’ve spent many years in the SBA industry and being a part of one of the most experienced teams in the country is an honor. I love helping business owners achieve their dreams and we’re doing just that at First Bank,” Petty said.
 
First Bank’s SBA division launched in early 2016 and has experienced rapid growth, becoming one of the top 50 SBA lenders in the country in just a year’s time, officials said.
 
“We’ve made it a point to only hire the best, and Laura represents exactly the type of expertise we look for at First Bank. We know you not only have to understand the intricacies of SBA lending, but you need to understand how tough it is for small business owners to manage everything the need to manage financially,” Stephanie Dunn, national sales manager with First Bank’s SBA division, said in the release.