Over the past year, the Kansas City-Springfield region saw gains in both the number and overall amount of SBA-backed business loans.

There was a 13 percent increase in the number of loans approved during Fiscal Year 2015 and a 12 percent increase in dollar volume, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Kansas City office. The agency approved 924 loans worth a total of $382.2 million.

The lending translates to 2,911 new jobs and 4,002 retained jobs.

Three industries saw big increases in the amount of loans. In the Kansas City-Springfield region, construction companies borrowed about $26 million, a 79.5 percent increase from a year earlier. SBA loans to health companies were up 50.4 percent. For real estate, SBA loans grew by 43.8 percent to $10.2 million.

The bulk of the Kansas City-Springfield region’s loans, 60.2 percent, were for less than $150,000. That may be partly due to the SBA’s decision to do away with up-front fees on smaller 7(a) loans.

Of the 134 lenders that worked with SBA’s loan guaranty program, the top three for the number of loans were U.S. Bank (112 loans), Alterra Bank (75 loans) and Simmons First National Bank (65 loans). Based on dollar volume, the most active were Alterra ($47.5 million), Oakstar Bank ($19.3 million) and U.S. Bank ($18.3 million).