Opening a pharmacy with the help of Small Business Boost

JACKSON, miss – (COMMERCIAL THREAD) – It has only been a few weeks since Dr. Andrew Clark opened the doors to Northtown Pharmacy, and he already feels at home and optimistic about the future of the business at the corner of Old Canton Road and Northtown Drive in Jackson , Mississippi.

The independent pharmacy opened on June 1 with a loan from BankPlus which was combined with a $ 100,000 Small Business Boost (SBB) loan from Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and BankPlus which provided funding. complementary.

CFF is offered by FHLB Dallas through member financial institutions such as BankPlus to fund qualifying small business transactions by bridging the gap between the loan amount that an FHLB Dallas member institution can fund and the demand. loan from an eligible small business. SBB loans are unsecured and are subordinate to the principal loan granted by the member financial institution.

“The Small Business Boost loan allowed me to free up capital to store and staff the pharmacy so that all of my capital was not tied to the purchase of the building,” Dr Clark said.

Mark Ouellette, senior vice president and director of affordable housing at BankPlus, said the bank is a long-time supporter of the FHLB Dallas loan program, which provides “gap” financing for startups and existing businesses that have a great business plan but might not have enough equity to qualify for a more traditional bank loan.

“Startups like Northtown Pharmacy may have a stellar business plan, but may lack the equity to fund both physical and operational costs for the first year, which can be intimidating for small business owners,” he said. said Mr. Ouellette. “The Small Business Boost enabled Dr. Clark to purchase a large building while retaining a capital cushion for the first year operations. ”

Another advantage of CFF is that the borrower does not start repaying the loan until after the first year. This feature is designed to help a small business generate essential cash flow in the first year of the loan.

Of the 28 CFF BankPlus loans since the program was launched in 2019, 15 were startups.

Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of community investment for FHLB Dallas, said access to capital is key to small business success.

“Access to capital for small businesses can be difficult to obtain,” he said. “We created the CFF program to help our member financial institutions bridge the gap between what they can lend to a small business and what that business needs to be successful. BankPlus saw the value of this program and took the ball and followed it.

Northtown Pharmacy is owned and operated by Dr Clark who has already hired his first employee, a graduate trainee on his way to becoming a full time pharmacist. He expects to have up to five full-term employees, he said.

The pharmacy is in a neighborhood that Dr. Clark calls home.

“I live in the community served by the pharmacy and my children attend community schools,” he said. “Being able to say that we live here, that we go to school here and that we care about what’s going on in the community makes a difference. It shows you care.

About BankPlus

Founded in 1909, BankPlus is one of the leading regional banks in the South East serving consumers and businesses with the latest technology through a full range of financial services including retail banking, commercial banking, lending mortgage and wealth management. With total assets of approximately $ 5 billion, BankPlus operates 79 financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. For more information on BankPlus, visit bankplus.net.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system established by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $ 61.1 billion as of March 31, 2021, is a co-operative owned by its members which supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit our website at fhlb.com.