Wells Fargo said for the second time in three years the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) has named it the Large 7(a) Lender of the Year. The 2013 award will be presented to Wells Fargo — the No. 1 SBA 7(a) lender to America’s small businesses by dollars — Friday, June 21, at the SBA’s National Small Business Week celebration event in Washington, D.C. The award will be presented by Karen G. Mills, administrator of the U.S. SBA.

“Through the SBA’s partnerships with lenders such as Wells Fargo, business owners across the country obtain essential capital to build their businesses, add jobs and strengthen America’s economy,” said Mills.

“Being recognized by the U.S. SBA for the second time in three years is a tremendous honor for all of us at Wells Fargo,” said David Rader, head of Wells Fargo’s SBA Lending Division. “At the same time, the greatest reward for our team is when our small business customers thrive and grow with help from SBA financing.”

The SBA Large 7(a) Lender of the Year honor is awarded annually by the SBA. The award is based on lender size, portfolio performance, growth in approval volume from the previous fiscal year, and a demonstrated, steadfast commitment to supporting the growth and expansion of small businesses across the country, even beyond the scope of SBA loans.

An SBA preferred lender in all 50 states, Wells Fargo was the first SBA lender to approve more than $1 billion in 7(a) loans in a single year in federal fiscal year 2011, and surpassed the $1 billion mark again in federal fiscal year 2012, Wells Fargo said.

For the first eight months of the current federal fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2012 – May 31, 2013), Wells Fargo extended 2,211 SBA 7(a) loans nationwide totaling more than $862 million — a more than 17% increase in dollars from the same period a year ago.

For the federal fiscal year 2012, which ended Sept. 30, 2012, Wells Fargo extended $1.24 billion in SBA 7(a) financing to small business owners, and was the second largest SBA lender in units extending 3,176 SBA 7(a) loans. During the same period, the company was the No. 1 SBA 7(a) lender in dollars in 15 states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming — and the No.1 SBA 7(a) lender in number of loans (units) in 10 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Wyoming.