Page 12 - Westchester County Economic Development Guide 2013
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ou won’t find Alé Frederico behind
a desk, studying spreadsheets.
Instead, the Senior Vice President of
Government Banking for TD Bank
prefers to be out in the professional community,
attending meetings, serving on the board of the
county’s Industrial Development Agency and
also as a representative on Governor Cuomo’s
Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development
Council, and talking with business owners to find
out what they need.
“We want to be thoroughly involved in and
support the needs of the business community,”
Frederico says. “Everyone is dedicated to making
sure we have a robust business community.”
Of course, for businesses to get started or grow,
they need capital.
“It’s important to understand what the issues
are for a business with regard to capitalizing or
looking for modes of finance, and understand the
options out there,” Frederico says. “Our message
has been that TD Bank is here to lend. Even
throughout the economic downturn, we have
continued to be a lender. We’re here to help you
grow.”
TD Bank offers dedicated small business
lending officers, and it works with the Small
Business Administration (SBA) as a preferred
lender, participating in both the SBA Express
Program, which makes loans of up to $350,000,
and the SBA 7A Program, which loans up to $5
million. “We also have a commercial lending side
with a lot of expertise,” Frederico says, adding
that bank officials serve on community and
nonprofit organizations that operate micro-lender
funds, offering their knowledge.
TD Bank participates in financial literacy
programs in local schools, as well as summer
reading programs, and through its charitable
foundation donates reading materials to schools.
Frederico, who co-chairs the Metro New York
Diversity Committee, wants both women and
minorities to feel comfortable working with
the bank. “We are known as America’s most
convenient bank – providing legendary customer
service, whether it’s a customer or a business.
That’s deeply ingrained; it’s a culture. We have
really committed investments and products
to our small business franchise. Small business
owners receive the products to help them grow
their business.”
Frederico notes that the community of
Westchester is equally supportive. “We have
quite a number of very successful women-
owned businesses in the community and have
organizations that work with women,” she says.
“What’s great about Westchester is that we have
access to organizations and support. We’re in the
community actively supporting our businesses.
It’s important that there are the organizations,
the resources and the tools to help support
them in that endeavor. There are advocates for
them within Westchester County to see their
businesses grow and thrive.”
Making Vital Web Connections
Small businesses are crucial to the vitality of the U.S.
economy, as they accounted for two-thirds of net-new
jobs created in the United States between 1993 and 2008,
according to the Small Business Administration. With
the goal of fueling economic growth and job creation in the United States, a
consortium of large corporations, led by IBM, came together to create Supplier
Connection
, a free website that makes it
easier for small businesses to become visible to the procurement units of large
companies. Additionally, IBM and the International Finance Corporation
(IFC) have worked together to create a small and medium enterprise toolkit,
or SME Toolkit (
), which provides entrepreneurs
and small businesses with free information critical to burgeoning businesses
in areas such as finance, accounting, international business, marketing and
human resources.
“We know the role technology can play in leading to growth. Now, with
Supplier Connection and the SME Toolkit, every business can have the same
chance to succeed,” says IBM’s Sheila Appel. “It’s vitally important that we
help small businesses who are the major employers and growth engines in our
communities.”
Y
Business Support
Photo by Cathy Pinsky, 2011
Business Assets
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