In the Kansas City region, the number and volume of SBA-backed loans grew by 12 percent over the past nine months, according to the agency’s local office.

A total of 671 loans, worth $235.9 million, were approved by the SBA’s Kansas City district office during that time. Almost 1,800 jobs were created thanks to SBA loans; another 2,600-plus positions were sustained as a result of the funding.

The biggest gains in loan volume were in the construction (65.9 percent), wholesale trade (43.8 percent), manufacturing (16 percent) and health care (32.7 percent).

There was an especially strong demand for 7(a) loans worth $150,000 or less. The Kansas City district office approved 349 such loans, and they accounted for 56.1 percent of all the KC office’s approvals. (The agency isn’t charging upfront fees for those loans, which may be encouraging borrowers.)

The most active SBA lender in the Kansas City-Springfield region by number of loans was US Bank (87 loans), followed by Simmons First National (58), Alterra Bank (56), Arvest Bank (44) and UMB Bank (31).

By dollar volume, the most active lenders were Alterra Bank ($33.2 million), Simmons First National ($14.3 million), Oakstar ($13.1 million), Arvest Bank ($11.7 million) and Rural Missouri Inc. ($11.4 million).