I am filing this complaint following encouragement by our SBA Lender Relations Specialist to do so after reviewing our case. My company, Ryan & Co., Inc., has an SBA 7 (a) loan (line of credit) with M&T Bank (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co.).
Following the SBA's recommendation, I contacted Mr. Carl Hairston, Regional Manager of M&T Bank, and my business consultant, Kenneth Beckham of the District of Columbia Small Business Development Center (DCSBDC), and I met with Mr. Hairston at his office on May 18. We have been in discussions since then, but our discussions ended on June 20 with no resolution for obtaining the balance of the $180,000 we applied for as a startup loan in our detailed Business Plan as submitted to M&T Bank in November.
Among the items discussed at our May 18 meeting, Mr. Hairston stated that the Bank made a mistake and never should have granted us $75,000 of the $180,000 we applied for last November. I responded that the bank’s sales representative had told me that the balance of the funds would be available in six months from signing, and I never would have agreed to the loan if I had understood otherwise. I had rejected an offer from another bank for that reason.
If the bank made a so-called “mistake, ” it forces me to abandon our Business Plan altogether, seek bankruptcy protection, and default on our loan as the only solution to their mistake. After eight full months of devoting myself full-time to successfully developing our Plan on schedule and within budget, the bank’s mistake has led me to these unhappy consequences.
Our Business Plan makes clear that we required $180,000 to make our plan operational. During our discussions with Mr. Hairston, it became apparent that no one at the bank had read or understood our Business Plan. For example, the bank asked if we had obtained any government contracts, when none was ever intended. Further, our Business Plan clearly states that it would take 13 months to complete our startup. I also provided Mr. Hairston with a number of new documents at his request, but each response was met with a new demand.
I feel that the bank should not have placed me in this position and has caused me substantial harm because of its mistake.
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