JPMorgan to Ramp Up Small-Biz Lending

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) is targeting small business owners in a big way.

The financial institution said Monday it plans to extend $10 billion in new loans to this segment in 2010, increasing its lending initiative to small businesses by up to $4 billion. Among other qualifications, the new loans will primarily go to companies with annual sales of less than $10 million, JPMorgan says. (Firms with sales of up to $20 million will qualify for the credit, the company says.)

The credit will provide businesses with increased access to working capital, term loans for expansion, commercial mortgages, lines of credit, and business credit cards, JPMorgan says.

"We will provide more credit -- and more one-on-one advice -- to small businesses at this crucial time because they are so important to the U.S. economy," JPMorgan's head of retail financial services Charlie Scharf said in a statement. "We urge small businesses owners to use the additional capital to expand and create jobs, and spur economic growth.

"We will continue to follow disciplined underwriting standards to confirm the businesses can afford the financing over the long term," Scharf added. "Obviously, our new loan volume will depend on demand from qualified businesses."

JPMorgan has already said it plans to target small businesses owners in the newly converted branches that were formerly part of Washington Mutual, which for the most part did not focus on these customers. It plans to increase the amount of small business-specific bankers in its branches by 17% to 1,900, it said.