American Lending Center Among Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Lending Center (ALC) has been named to the Financial Times’ list of America’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2025, coming in at 171.

This prestigious award is presented by the Financial Times and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on April 25, 2025, and can currently be viewed on the Financial Times website. It includes companies in more than 20 countries in the Americas.

American Lending Center Holdings, commonly referred to as American Lending Center, has been on the Fastest-Growing list four times. The company was founded in 2012 by CEO John Shen and is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

“We are pleased to be included in this prestigious list of companies,” Shen said. “With our team’s commitment to our mission and creativity, we look forward to continuing success at increasing economic development and opportunity in communities across the United States.”

The 2025 list is based on revenue growth between 2020 and 2023. ALC showed a 261.9% growth over that period, with 28 employees in 2023. Today, ALC employs 60 people in offices worldwide.

ALC is a private non-bank lending institution recognized nationally for small business lending focused on job creation and for its work with SBA 7(a) and other loan guarantees. More recently, ALC has helped rebuild multiple rural hospitals, alternative energy, and agricultural infrastructure projects.

For example, ALC has participated in a next-generation geothermal energy project in Utah. The multiple phases of the project will create an estimated 6,600 construction jobs and 160 permanent full-time positions. ALC has provided financing for multiple rural hospital projects as well.

“Creating jobs to benefit communities is key to ALC’s operating principles,” Stella Zhang, ALC’s Chief Operating Officer, said. “Whether that is done by supporting infrastructure or helping small businesses, it is a win-win.”

Since its inception, ALC has proudly provided over $2.2 billion in loans and investments to thousands of companies of all sizes, empowering them to grow and thrive.

This is the Financial Times’ sixth annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas. Companies are ranked by their compound annual growth in revenue.

About American Lending Center:

American Lending Center LLC (ALC), a mission-driven California-regulated lender, is a licensed SBA 7(a) and SSBCI lender. Together, ALCH and ALC have supported the creation or retention of over 140,000 jobs in the U.S. economy, underwriting impactful projects that foster economic growth.

American Lending Center Holdings (ALCH) manages 14 EB-5 regional centers sponsoring projects across the United States. Since 2009, ALCH has raised EB-5 capital for over 100 projects in 31 states including I-956F approvals from USCIS of 27 projects. ALCH has been featured on the Inc. 5000 list of “Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” for five consecutive years (2020–2024) and was also ranked among “America’s Fastest Growing Companies” by Financial Times in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025.

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