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Almanac
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Business New Haven
12/4/1995
By: BNH
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Getting Small-Biz Savvy: With the addition of two new SBA programs and the granting of Regional Preferred Lender status (RPLS), the Bank of Boston Connecticut last month became the state's first full-service provider of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) services. The new Export Working Capital Program (EWCP) is designed to assist small firms in international trade ventures. EWCP provides repayment guarantees to commercial lenders of up to 80 percent of the loan amount. The Fa$trak program offers small-business owners the opportunity to borrow up to $100,000 for startups and/or expansion and growth of an existing business. Participating Fa$trak lenders employ their own documentation and procedures, while SBA guarantees up to 50 percent of the note. As a preferred lender, Bank of Boston is designated to provide up to $750,000 in financing for small businesses under the SBA 7(a) guaranty program, which in New England provides a guarantee of up to 80 percent of the value of the loan. Through July 31, Bank of Boston Connecticut had written $2.2 million in SBA loans, placing it fifth among area lending institutions.
Exchanging One Home for Another: The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASDAQ) is eyeing the vacant 75-acre Richardson-Vicks property in Shelton as a potential site for its data and administration center. According to the Fairfield County Business Journal, the NASDAQ folks are looking to lease, not buy, and the Shelton site, which has been unoccupied for five years, has made the short list. Other possibilities include building an addition at NASDAQ's present facility in Trumbull or moving to an undisclosed Westchester County site. NASDAQ presently has some 400 employees in the two buildings that presently house its data center and an administrative unit in Trumbull.
Lust for Dust: The city of New Haven is seeking a consultant to create a Farmington Canal, a trail that extends 1.9 miles through New Haven. Development of the New Haven section and completion of a Hamden section would create a continuous 14-mile Cheshire-to-New Haven link that could be used for hiking, cycling, jogging and even commuting. The City Plan Department has sent out a request for qualifications and is tapping some $1 million in state funds to create a master plan and design concept for the trail, says planning director Karyn Gilvarg. The dollars would come from the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Economic Development. Open from 1828 to 1848, the Farmington Canal once linked New Haven with communities to its north all the way to Northampton, Mass. (see related story, page 29).
In With the New: SNET announced last month that it would combine its multimedia media and publishing business units. Under the consolidation plan, Patrice Listfield, president of SNET Publishing, will also head SNET Multimedia Services. She replaces Cory Mitchell, who resigned after less than a year with SNET. Listfield joined SNET in her current position in July 1994; she previously was vice president of strategic planning, advertising and circulation for Hachette Filipacchi Inc., a publisher of magazines. SNET presently operates a multimedia trial in West Hartford and is seeking to expand the trial to 150,000 homes and, ultimately, 1.5 million Connecticut customers.
Hello, Larry: The Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC) have named Lawrence J. Ganim their 1995 Small-Business Person of the Year. Ganim is president of the Bridgeport-based Ganim Financial Services Inc., which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The firm focuses on employee benefits planning, executive benefits, pension and insurance planning and business and estate planning. Ganim's community involvement includes a stint as chairman of the BRBC's Chambers Council, chairman of the Targeted Industries Marketing Task Force and past chair of the Bridgeport chamber.
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