HIB Hibernia Corp Cla

Hibernia Corp. (NYSE:HIB) announced today that it will be part of a new loan program introduced this week by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that allows designated banks to make SBA-backed loans to businesses impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Under the Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program, new "GO Loans" will be available through Sept. 30, 2006, to small businesses in the counties and parishes of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida that are included in the Presidential disaster declarations for the hurricanes, and the contiguous counties and parishes. "This program is a needed first step toward revitalizing the communities affected by the storms," said Hibernia President and CEO Herb Boydstun. "We look forward to even greater flexibility from the SBA so that private-sector lenders can become full partners in the recovery effort." The SBA program, announced this week by the SBA, is a public-private partnership. It allows local banks, which know their customers best, to make credit decisions and reduces paperwork in the application and funding process, making it easier for small businesses to receive help. "We agree with the SBA's assessment that providing funds through locally based financial institutions will speed delivery of loans to small-business owners much more quickly than the SBA could accomplish alone," said Boydstun. Hibernia is on Forbes magazine's list of the world's 2,000 largest companies and Fortune magazine's list of America's top 1,000 companies according to annual revenue. Hibernia has $23.2 billion in assets and 326 locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 36 Texas counties. Hibernia Corporation's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.