S O U T H C ENT R A L P EN N S Y L V A N IA 9Penn National Insurance with national headquarters in Harrisburg and Donegal Insurance in Lancaster, all call South Central Pennsylvania home. Harrisburg-based Centric Bank was just named No. 1 by dollar volume — for making. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans — in the Eastern district of Pennsylvania, which includes 40 of the state’s 67 counties.“Small business is the heart of what we do,” says Centric Bank President & CEO Patricia A. Husic. We’re No. 1 out of 97 banks,” Husic says. The ranking refers to loans that have been completed. Sometimes, she notes, such statistics reflect loan approvals by the SBA, but in this case it means actually taking the loans to completion. “When you look at the fabric of our communities, it is built upon small businesses, and when you think about how many other businesses they touch to help the vibrancy of our communities, we’re very excited about doing small business lending,” says Husic. “That’s what our team does and what they do very well.”Many national insurance companies also maintain a major presence in the region, from Nationwide Insurance to Highmark and Capital Blue Cross. These companies come to the area for the skilled workforce. Additionally, the presence of these companies has helped to develop new technologies. It’s easy to see the synergistic relationships between the handling of data and the tech support needed to manage the data. The region is seeing an increase in technology companies that specialize in analyzing data that have been working with the insurance companies in an effort to improve performance. The insurance and technology companies have been able to utilize the educational network in South Central Pennsylvania to develop the skilled workers needed, and to continue developing new techniques and processes.From the real estate perspective, nearly all major national real estate firms are represented within the region. Real estate is more than just brokers, there is also an active developer and investment community. Some of the firms are local while others are larger operations that maintain offices within the region. The brokers and developers are active in the development and leasing of warehouse spaces that typically exceed 1 million sq. ft. However, they are also active in the strong office markets in Harrisburg, Lancaster and York in addition to smaller urban and suburban locations between the regions three core cities. This environment creates strong real estate markets and firms to handle the supply and demand.“When you look at the fabric of our communities, it is built upon small businesses, and when you think about how many other businesses they touch to help the vibrancy of our communities, we’re very excited about doing small business lending.” — Patricia A. Husic, President & CEO, Centric Bank SCPA16_Finance.indd 98/31/16 1:00 PM
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