State of SBA Lending 2026
FY2020 – Q1 FY2026 · data through December 31, 2025
Between FY2020 and Q1 FY2026, the SBA 7(a) program approved 357,866 loans totaling $185.9 billion across 2,186 distinct lenders. The first fiscal quarter of 2026 (October–December 2025) alone saw 10,352 loans totaling $5.24 billion. The top lender by dollars is Live Oak Banking Company ($12.6B cumulative). Charge-off rates among lenders with 500+ mature loans range from 0.00% (Newtek Bank, Harvest, Commonwealth, Northwest) to 12.58% (CDC Small Business Finance) — a 28x spread. Full-service restaurants are the single most-funded industry at 16,354 loans. All figures computed directly from the SBA FOIA dataset, released by SBA on February 6, 2026.
The market is narrower than it looks
Of 2,186 distinct lenders that approved at least one SBA 7(a) loan since FY2020, only 94 approved more than 500 loans. Those 94 lenders — just 4.3% of all lenders — account for roughly 76% of all loan dollars. The long tail is real but thin. If you're an applicant, you are almost certainly borrowing from one of these 94 institutions whether you realize it or not.
Risk has diverged sharply
Among the 65 lenders with ≥500 mature loans (FY2020–FY2023 cohort), charge-off rates range from 0.00% to 12.58% — a 28x spread.
The four "zero default" lenders
- Newtek Bank — 1,261 mature loans, 0.00% charge-off
- Harvest Small Business Finance — 1,179 mature loans, 0.00%
- Commonwealth Business Bank — 740 mature loans, 0.00%
- Northwest Bank — 574 mature loans, 0.00%
The five highest-risk high-volume lenders
- CDC Small Business Finance — 12.58% charge-off on 922 mature loans
- United Midwest Savings — 8.18% on 3,009 mature loans
- TD Bank — 7.66% on 8,828 mature loans
- BayFirst National Bank — 5.94% on 4,497 mature loans
- Wells Fargo — 5.48% on 7,788 mature loans
Charge-off rate is a rough proxy for underwriting discipline, industry mix, and macro exposure. It is not a measure of whether your loan will perform — a selective lender with a 0.00% rate may simply reject everything marginal.
Restaurants lead; remodelers charge off
Full-service restaurants are the #1 funded NAICS industry since FY2020 — 16,354 loans, $8.6B, 2.06% charge-off rate. Limited-service restaurants follow at 11,949 loans. Residential remodelers are #3 by volume (7,351 loans) but among the worst by risk at 4.47% charge-off. Long-distance trucking (#5 by volume) is similarly shaky at 4.88%.
See the full breakdown at /sba-lenders-for.
California captures nearly 12% of all 7(a) dollars
California leads all states with 41,504 loans, followed by Texas (27,103), Florida (26,494), New York (22,213), and Ohio (20,597). The top five states account for more than a third of all loans in the dataset.
The franchise finance story
11.8% of all 7(a) loans since FY2020 went to franchise-brand borrowers — 42,160 loans across 3,329 distinct brands. The top franchise recipients: The UPS Store (943 loans), Hotworx (441), Subway (348), Anytime Fitness (305), Quality Inn (315), Ace Hardware (294), Crumbl (289), Scooter's Coffee (275). Those 8 brands alone received $1B+ in 7(a) financing.
Takeaways
- The top 94 lenders are the real market; the other ~2,000 are occasional participants.
- Charge-off rates vary 28x between the safest and the riskiest large-volume lenders.
- Restaurants, fitness centers, and HVAC contractors are well-served. Remodelers and long-haul truckers face higher risk premiums.
- California, Texas, and Florida concentrate a disproportionate share of all SBA activity.
- Franchise lending is a major, under-reported segment of SBA 7(a).
For journalists and analysts
Figures in this 2026 edition are free to cite with attribution to "SBA Lender Data analysis of SBA FOIA dataset (Feb 2026 release)." Underlying data is public at data.sba.gov. For questions, methodology detail, or custom slices of the data, see our About page.
Next update: Q2 FY2026 data (through March 31, 2026) typically publishes in May 2026 and this report will be refreshed within 7 days of that release.
Full methodology
Complete methodology at /methodology. Source data as of 2025-12-31. Next update: Q2 2026 (when SBA releases the next FOIA refresh).