Pinnacle Loans $88.8 Million to Knoxville Area Companies in Round Two of the Paycheck Protection Program

More than 567 local businesses received a PPP loan from the firm, with 89% under $350,000

In the second round of Paycheck Protection Program lending, Pinnacle Financial Partners made 567 loans worth $88.8 million to local businesses in need across the Knoxville area. Added together with first round lending, the firm issued nearly 1,662 PPP loans worth more than $330 million in the market. For context, Pinnacle’s local loan growth in all of 2019 was $216.8 million.

“For more than a year, our associates have worked primarily on helping their clients get through this crisis,” said Mike DiStefano, Pinnacle’s Knoxville president. “PPP was a big part of that and has helped thousands of local businesses survive shutdowns and pandemic restrictions. We’re grateful to have played a part in Knoxville’s economic recovery and to our clients for placing their trust in us to help.”

The average size of a second round PPP loan from Pinnacle in the market is $156,665, with 89 percent coming in well below $350,000 each.

• 2021 Small-dollar Loans Less than $350,000
  • 506 loans worth $34.3 million
  • 89 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $67,742.
• 2021 Mid-size Loans Larger than $350,000 and Less than $1 million
  • 40 loans worth $22.8 million
  • 7 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $570,538.
• 2021 Large Loans Greater than $1 million
  • 21 loans worth $31.7 million
  • 4 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made in the market
  • Average loan size in this category is $1.5 million.

Statewide in Tennessee, Pinnacle originated $552.3 million in PPP loans to 5,327 businesses in the second round. The firmwide total is more than 9,000 loans worth more than $930 million. When combined with first round PPP loans in 2020, Pinnacle lent $3.2 billion to 23,000 clients across its footprint. The firm saw enormous success with small-dollar and mid-size loans, in particular, getting much needed funding to small businesses facing revenue shortfalls and added expenses, both related to the pandemic.  

• Total Small-dollar Loans Less than $350,000
  • 21,784 loans worth $1.4 billion
  • 91 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made
  • Average loan size in this category is $63,096
• Total Mid-size Loans Larger than $350,000 and Less than $1 million
  • 1,490 loans worth $851.9 million
  • 6 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made
  • Average loan size in this category is $571,748
• Total Large Loans Larger than $1 million
  • 504 loans worth $1 billion
  • 3 percent of the total PPP loans Pinnacle made
  • Average loan size in this category is $2 million

PPP lending in 2021 was a much different process than in 2020. Pinnacle’s PPP team had more time to prepare but also faced more complications and greater scrutiny in the SBA review process. It took a full-time, dedicated effort from dozens of associates and continued attention from practically all relationship managers to advise clients and take in and process PPP applications.

“Our associates spent more than a year on this incredible effort, and they delivered in ways only Pinnacle can,” said Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and CEO. “Their preparation and willingness to tackle the complexities are a true demonstration of what makes Pinnacle different, but the real value is in the 23,000 businesses in our home communities that will make it to the other side of this crisis because of the funding we helped them get.”

These loans are made from Pinnacle funds and include an SBA guarantee. They are potentially eligible for forgiveness if used by the borrower for required purposes. Pinnacle has already opened its forgiveness application portal for second round loans, and the number of forgiveness applications for first round loans is steadily increasing. With lending now closed, the SBA appears to be processing and approving forgiveness applications at a faster rate. Pinnacle is encouraging first round PPP borrowers to apply for forgiveness now before deadlines start hitting in the summer.

“We’re encouraged by the increased number of PPP loan payoffs we’ve seen recently from the SBA,” Turner said. “This process isn’t over when we fund the loan. We’ve been working with clients since October on the forgiveness process, and we’ve spent more than a year now advising businesses who are facing pandemic-related troubles. It started with PPP and our intensive deferral and credit review process, and now we’re moving into the home stretch with PPP forgiveness and the new SBA grant programs that launched this month. It’s been a difficult road, and our associates have worked hand in hand with their clients every step of the way.”

Resources for Pinnacle clients working on forgiveness are available at PNFP.com/PPPForgiveness. And though banks are not directly involved in the programs, Pinnacle is advising clients on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant at PNFP.com/SBARelief.

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. Pinnacle earned a spot on FORTUNE's 2021 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S., its fifth consecutive appearance. American Banker recognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For eight years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets in 2020.

Pinnacle expanded to East Tennessee in 2007 by hiring a team of local financial services professionals to start an office in Knoxville. Pinnacle now operates five offices in Knox County, one in Oak Ridge and one in Maryville. The firm is the fourth-largest bank in the Knoxville MSA in terms of deposits.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $35.3 billion in assets as of March 31, 2021. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 12 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia and Atlanta.  

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.