DBT40 Honoree: Pablo Velazquez
Share
Position: Vice President of Business Banking
Employer: M&T Bank
Age: 39
Pablo Velazquez is the vice president of business banking at M&T Bank in Delaware, where he has helped keep businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
M&T Bank furnished more than $370 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for more than 2,000 Delaware businesses, protecting nearly 40,000 local jobs. Velazquez personally worked on 400 of those loan applications for business clients, who received an average of $150,000 in funding.
Last year, Velazquez was appointed to M&T Bank’s President’s Council and Chairman’s Club after his work at the bank brought the most prospects to the region. When selecting members for the Chairman’s Club, the company selects only one business banker in each market, with members having achieved all of their production goals and demonstrating expertise in furthering their teams.
This year, Velazequez is on track to cross $10 million in loans originated, and he regularly refers prospects to other divisions. Recently, he brought in Metal Masters, a manufacturer of commercial food service equipment and metal shelving, to the bank’s Middle Market lending team for a $28 million credit, plus demand deposit.
Velazquez now has about 80 business banking clients in his portfolio, including Breslin Management and Construction Contracting, Masten Electric, and Wattay Accounting.
Velazquez serves on the boards of the CenDel Foundation, a Central Delaware philanthropic organization, and Kent County Ducks Unlimited, a group of volunteers who raise awareness and funding for wetlands and waterfowl conservation. He has also served as treasurer of the Smyrna-Clayton Rotary Club for the past three years and was recently elected president.
Since he was a kid, Velazquez has enjoyed bass fishing. Now, as an adult he enjoys participating in various tournaments with the American Bass Association and the Chester County Bass Opens, and in June he placed fourth in the Chester County Bass Masters Upper Bay Open Series.