Edhat Reader
By Cen Cal Business Finance Group
Fresno-based Cen Cal Business Finance Group announced today the completion of a merger with Santa Maria-based Coastal Business Finance effective Oct. 1, 2023.
Cen Cal Business Finance Group (Cen Cal) is the surviving Certified Development Company (CDC) and will maintain Coastal Business Finance’s current office at 930 South Broadway in Santa Maria. All employees from both organizations will remain.
As of Sept. 30, 2023, Cen Cal had 233 loans with $106.5 million in loan balances, while Coastal Business Finance had 101 loans for $44.2 million in loan balances.
“We have been actively lending in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties for about 10 years,” said Cen Cal’s Executive Director Frank C. Gallegos. “The merger makes us a permanent fixture on the Central Coast in a locally staffed office with people who know the needs of the area and are available to help small business clients with SBA 504 real estate loans.”
Lesley Lang-Lopez, Senior Vice President and Senior Loan Officer will head up Cen Cal’s Santa Maria office that will serve the Central Coast and parts of Southern California. Lang-Lopez is a seasoned lender with more than 30 years of experience managing SBA teams and lending programs.
Two Coastal Business Finance board members will each be added to Cen Cal’s board of directors, as well as a newly created five-member, non-voting Central Coast advisory committee to provide ongoing advice on how best to help businesses in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Coastal Business Finance’s Executive Director Brian Kearns retired in September. Cen Cal made at $10,000 scholarship donation to Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria to recognize Kearns’ retirement after 20 years of service.
Founded in 1984, Cen Cal provides fixed-rate SBA 504 loans for owner-occupied real estate acquisitions and equipment purchases to small and medium sized businesses throughout California’s Central Valley and Central California Coast by partnering with banks, private lenders, and credit unions.
