MB&T, Baker Hill partnership helps small businesses

January 9, 2026

In an effort to help small businesses get access to credit much faster than traditional methods, Montecito Bank & Trust has been teaming up with Illinois-based Baker Hill, a leading provider of cloud-based lending solutions.

In turn, when it came time for Baker Hill to expand and open a new office and flagship Innovation Center, it chose Santa Barbara as its new home — a move that will be beneficial to the local business community, said Janet Garufis, MB&T CEO.

“One of the things that is really extraordinary about leading a community bank is that you do have the opportunity to do things that larger institutions often can’t do. We’re big enough to make an impact, but we’re small enough to be nimble and make very fast decisions and to make decisions that I think benefit the whole community,” Garufis told the Business Times. “I’m thrilled to be able to do this with Baker Hill. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, because of my previous history with starting credit scoring for small businesses more than 30 years ago and so this is really a full circle for me.”

Montecito Bank & Trust first started working with Baker Hill about five years ago, as they were looking for a new platform. Baker Hill’s platform has processed more than $7 billion in lending originations since its founding in 1984, intending to make lending easy.

“Acquiring credit in your own name as a small business is often a very difficult thing to do,” Garufis said.

Platforms like Baker Hill help simplify the process by cutting through paperwork, waiting on people to make decisions. Instead, people applying for business loans usually find out in 24 hours.

“That’s very different from the way most small businesses experience acquiring credit,” Gaurfis said. ”And when you do it this way, in our case, you have the opportunity to deal with a relationship banker at Montecito Bank and Trust to walk you through the process and help. Because of that, it is a very personal experience.”

Garufis recalled having dinner with the CEO of Baker Hill, Andy Ivankovich, when the topic shifted to them opening an innovation center. Ivankovich expressed interest in Santa Barbara, primarily because of the company’s strong ties to MB&T.

“I said, ‘Well, it just so happens there’s some real estate available in the same building where we have our loan center,’ and I took him out there on a Saturday morning the next day, and he loved it and signed it right there,” Garufis said.

Baker Hill’s Santa Barbara Innovation Center features a technology-forward design, flexible meeting and training areas, and a community-inspired atmosphere.

“This Innovation Center isn’t just a milestone for Baker Hill — it’s a declaration of how we show up for the communities we serve,” said Ivankovich. “By creating space for co-innovation, we’re proving that when fintechs and financial institutions work hand-in-hand, we don’t just build better technology, we build stronger communities. This is how we empower the future of community banking, together.”

The Santa Barbara hub is open to all California-based financial institutions for team collaboration, strategic planning, and training. For Baker Hill’s West Coast clients, it offers an immersive space to sharpen strategy, co-create solutions, and grow with intention.

“Having an Innovation Center just down the road is more than symbolic; it’s transformative,” said Garufis. “When fintech leaders and community banks share the same space, ideas move faster, relationships deepen, and innovation becomes tangible. This partnership is a blueprint for what’s possible in the future of banking.”

Baker Hill is planning additional Innovation Centers in markets like San Antonio, Atlanta and Orlando in 2026 and 2027 — continuing its mission to elevate community banking coast to coast, according to a press release.

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