CAMBRIDGE, Ohio, March 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Advantage Bank, the banking subsidiary of Camco Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:CAFI), announced that they have received the Bank Partnership Award from the Community Capital Development Corporation (CCDC). Richard C. Baylor, Chairman, CEO and President of Camco and Advantage Bank, and Kemper Allison, SVP/Senior Lending Officer of Advantage Bank, made the announcement.
Advantage Bank has received this prestigious award from CCDC in recognition of the bank's ongoing focus on small business lending and aggressive utilization of the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program. The SBA 504 Loan Program provides direct loans to for-profit businesses for land, building and large equipment acquisition. Advantage Bank was one of 38 banks to participate in the program in 2007.
Allison stated, "We are very pleased to receive this award. Advantage Bank is committed to serving the small business owners that employ our friends, families and neighbors within the communities we serve." Brad Shimp, Director of CCDC shared, "Advantage Bank's lending practices support the economic development goals of CCDC and the SBA and have resulted in job creation and increased investments throughout the State of Ohio. We are grateful for their partnership and ongoing support."
CCDC was established in 1981 and is a private, not-for-profit corporation which makes loans to businesses throughout the State of Ohio. Their financing programs are designed to assist healthy, small businesses expand and grow. CCDC also provides working capital loans for existing small businesses in the City of Columbus. They are 100 percent self sufficient, funded from fees earned on their loan programs. Since 1981, CCDC has approved more than $200 million in loans to over 1,000 businesses. These loans helped create more than 10,000 jobs and pumped an additional $350 million in bank and owner investment into the counties CCDC serves.
Camco Financial Corporation, Holding Company of Advantage Bank, is a multi-state financial services Holding Company headquartered in Cambridge, Ohio. Advantage Bank and its affiliate, Camco Title Agency, offer relationship banking that includes commercial, small business and consumer financial services, internet banking and title insurance services from twenty-eight offices in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Additional information about Camco Financial may be found on Camco's web site: www.advantagebank.com.
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