Celtic Bank Corporation announced the hiring of commercial banking veteran Thomas Hurdman. The move is part of the bank’s aggressive growth strategy, in which they have hired six new business development officers (BDO) over the last six months.

Hurdman has worked for a number of the nation’s top banks and commercial finance groups, including Fidelity Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo and CIT providing financing for real estate acquisition, construction, business acquisition and expansion, equipment and inventory purchase, debt refinance, franchise finance and working capital.

As the 12th nationally ranked SBA lender, Celtic Bank produced $184 million in approved gross SBA loans fiscal year 2011. The expansion of its BDO staff is evidence that the bank is looking to increase production and its rank in overall SBA production.

“We feel that now is the time to be aggressive in the Small Business lending space. The economy is getting stronger and Celtic Bank can help strengthen it further by funding small businesses,” states Reese Howell Jr., CEO of Celtic Bank Corporation. “We continue to grow year over year and 2012 is going to be one of our best years yet.”

“We are excited to have Tom on the Celtic Bank team. His expertise in small business lending in the southeast will prove invaluable to our mission there. Through Tom’s efforts, we look forward to serving many more small business owners throughout the region,” said Craig R. Calafati, senior vice president and national sales manager of Celtic Bank

Celtic Bank is a provider of small business loans, 7(a) SBA loans, real estate financing and construction loans.