Despite the global COVID‐19 pandemic, Baystone Government Finance closed its most successful year on record in 2020, according to the company. The Manhattan, KS‐headquartered lender funded more than $261 million in deals in 2020. The company’s average deal size last year was around $179,000.

Notably, Baystone provided the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) with $3.35 million in emergency financing for 19 ambulances in spring 2020. Baystone also funded two separate deals of more than $4 million each.

“Going into 2020, we did not know exactly what to expect in terms of volume,” Evan Howe, director of the Baystone Government Finance Program, said. “There was a lot of uncertainty. However, it soon became apparent to us that there was more demand than we anticipated from our customers and we were able to fill that demand.”

Howe also said that while Baystone completed many smaller ticket transactions, which is the mainstay of the division’s business, several large deals played a significant role in the company’s record‐setting year. The company experienced growth in the emergency marketplace, financing fire trucks, ambulances and school technology.

“School technology for distance learning has been a particularly strong driver of recent demand,” Brad Buhrow, assistant vice president of Baystone Government Finance, said. “The more ‘essential’ the asset, the more likely the equipment lease is to survive potential budget cuts.”

Baystone Government Finance was founded in 1987 as the government and non‐profit lending division of KS StateBank.