The Harbor Bank of Maryland today announced a partnership with Cerebro Capital, a commercial loan marketplace, to provide $50 million in loans to small businesses within the Baltimore Washington metro region. The program, which will offer loans as large as $2 million, is focused on increasing access to capital for minority-owned businesses, who traditionally have been underserved by the commercial credit market.
As a result of the partnership, the loan program offers unique benefits at no cost to small businesses using the Cerebro platform to access the loans. These include:
- Open to businesses with a limited operating history and collateral to remove traditional barriers to small business loans
- Dedicated underwriters to ensure that loan requests originated from Cerebro’s platform will be processed immediately
- The Harbor Bank of Maryland will provide term sheets within 24 business hours to qualifying borrowers
- Favorable terms and options
“Everything we do is geared around making it easier for borrowers to know their options and access debt capital, but this partnership kicks off a new chapter for Cerebro as we work to bring brand new proprietary loan programs to market”, explained Founder and CEO Matt Bjonerud. “We’re thrilled to partner together with a great Baltimore institution to help minority-owned businesses find the loans they need to grow and expand.”
“At The Harbor Bank of Maryland, we are always looking for innovative ways to reach the local business community”, explained SVP & Chief Lending Officer, Stanley Arnold. “Partnering with Cerebro will allow us to leverage Cerebro’s technology and processes making it easier and faster for deployment of capital into the minority business community. We are excited to team up with a Baltimore-based fintech to move this forward.”
About The Harbor Bank of Maryland: The Harbor Bank of Maryland is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) designated Minority Depository Institution and minority-owned. It is the only commercial bank headquartered in Baltimore and is a participating lender in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program. Harbor Bank has a 40-year track record of providing catalytic capital and technical assistance to historically marginalized businesses, families, and communities. Harbor Bank and its Harbor Bankshares’ affiliates represent three of Baltimore’s seven U.S. Treasury CDFIs, requiring 60% of loans and services be made in low-income communities. Harbor Bank is a vital community anchor that accelerates wealth creation and development within the Greater Baltimore Washington region. To learn more about Harbor Bank, visit https://www.TheHarborBank.com.
About Cerebro Capital: Cerebro Capital was started in 2017 to help democratize access to debt capital for middle-market companies. Cerebro has grown rapidly since its inception and today works with thousands of borrowers to connect them to lenders from over 1,500 lending institutions to provide credit and loans up to $100 million. As its customer base continues to expand, Cerebro is using its insights to help lenders customize and develop their loan programs to meet unmet demand. Working with finance and technology experts, Cerebro has created a holistic corporate loan sourcing and placement solution designed to revolutionize the way borrowers, lenders, intermediaries, and stakeholders manage commercial debt. To learn more about Cerebro, please visit, https://www.cerebrocapital.com/.
