FirstBank, Colorado’s second largest bank and one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, announced that it’s expanding its business lending division. The bank recently hired commercial banking veteran, Nan Hinton, as President of Business Lending to lead this effort.

The expansion will focus on commercial & industrial (C&I) loans, providing more companies the financial resources for operational or fixed asset needs such as funding payroll or purchasing equipment.

“Expanding our business lending department will help FirstBank continue its strong financial performance and we’re confident in Nan’s expertise to propel our organization to the next level in commercial loans,” said John Ikard, CEO of FirstBank. “It’s also imperative that we provide significant resources to manufacturers, distributors and area businesses, which remain catalysts in our economic growth. Increasing our commercial lending efforts isn’t just good for business – it’s good for our customers and our communities.”

Prior to joining FirstBank, Hinton served as the Commercial Banking Market President for Community Banks of Colorado where she was responsible for growing commercial relationships throughout the state. She has 30 years of industry experience and graduated with an MBA in Finance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

“FirstBank has done an astounding job in providing quality deposit and loan relationships to some of the nation’s most reputable companies. We are just ensuring resources are more readily available for a company’s day-to-day operating needs, including treasury management and working capital,” said Hinton. “I’m extremely honored to lead this division and join one of the country’s best performing banks.”

As of June 30, FirstBank’s net loans totaled $9.1 billion, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the same period last year. FirstBank also experienced year-over-year increases in all its financial measures, growing to more than $16.2 billion in assets by mid-year 2016.

FirstBank offers a variety of business loans, including SBA loans, commercial real estate loans and construction loans. FirstBank operates more than 120 locations in Colorado, Arizona and California. FirstBank is the largest locally owned banking organization in Colorado, serving more than 700,000 customers. Since 2000, FirstBank has contributed more than $55 million and thousands of volunteer hours to charitable organizations. FirstBank is unique in that a majority of its stock is owned by management and employees.