New York Congressional District #14

District Success Story:
Xanatos Automotive

Mr. Fadi Ajam is the owner/President of Xanatos Automotive, a distributor and manufacturer of auto parts and accessories located in Woodside. Mr. Ajam requested financial assistance from the LaGuardia SBDC to obtain a loan of $700,000 so he could refinance an existing line of credit and obtain some working capital to hire additional staff. His biggest challenge in obtaining capital was that his debt to equity ratio was too high. The LaGuardia SBDC assisted Mr. Ajam with identifying several lending institutions to solve his most immediate need—refinancing. When his loan application was declined by several lending institutions, Mr. Ajam decided to sell his interest in a commercial property in Philadelphia and use the proceeds to reduce both personal and commercial debt. After almost a year, he was advised to apply for a loan to refinance existing debt. LaGuardia SBDC introduced Mr. Ajam to a Bank of America loan office at a Lenders’ Round Table event. Bank of America approved a term loan in the amount of $700,000 loan and a line of credit for $100,000 and he was able to create four new jobs. Mr. Ajam’s next endeavor will be to purchase property for his business. He sent his thanks via email: “Rosa, You guys really directed me in the right direction, and you offered me many opportunities to find the best bank to work with. You and your staff always did your best to help me grow. BOA helped me increase my business by more than 20% last year and add 4 full time positions to my staff. I really appreciate it.”