Premier Bank offers local help for small firms' long-distance problems.

• Author: WOELFLEIN, MIKE
• Position: Brief Article

Vinh Grant and Eric Dupasquier want to expand internationally this year. They've been held back in the past, largely by financing issues. Specifically, the co-owners of Alpine Air -- a Denver-based sporting goods distributor and importer/exporter -- want to sell snowboards, skis and accessories to wholesalers in South America.

Dealing with international customers means both sides are thrust into the fairly lawless land of international commerce. Payments from other countries can take months, so Alpine Air was paying for imports well in advance of when it was getting paid for exports. The company was already selling to Japan, but only prepaid orders, which was limiting sales.

Grant and Dupasquier started looking for solutions, from banks and other financing companies. Solutions weren't easy to find. "Typically, banks are afraid of businesses that are growing," Grant said. "Particularly when you're talking about international markets. They get a little scared."

They called Jeffrey Lee, president and CEO of Premier Bank, also based in Denver.

He wasn't scared.

Lee's bank has been in the news a lot in recent months, for granting more Small Business Administration loans than any other bank in Colorado during 2000, and for its work with small businesses owned by minorities and recent immigrants. With Lee, a Korean native, at the helm, Premier also helps small businesses who are looking to international markets.

"Jeffrey had everything we needed," Grant...