Who lends, and where
Top SBA lenders: who made the 56,130 loans of FY 2026, and at what price
Lenders publish rate ranges; SBA publishes what they charged. Pick a lender below to compare its pricing with the rate it quoted you.
Independent site, not a lender and not affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Loans are applied for only with an SBA lender.
How a lender priced its SBA loans
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Newtek Bank: FY 2026 loans
5,035
| Median spread over prime (variable) | 3.00 points |
| Your spread over today’s prime | 3.00 points |
| Its variable loans at the SBA maximum | 43% |
| Median loan | $150,000 |
Spread = rate at approval minus the prime of the first business day of that month. Last year’s loans: the 7(a) loans SBA approved from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 (fiscal year 2026), in SBA’s public loan file of September 30, 2026.
1,202 lenders approved at least one SBA 7(a) loan in FY 2026, but the volume is concentrated: the 25 busiest made 61.9% of all approvals. Newtek Bank led with 5,035 loans, followed by Northeast Bank (3,603) and Huntington National Bank (3,368). Their pricing differs widely. Measured as the margin over the prime rate of the month of approval, the median ranged from 1.50 points at Bank of Hope to 6.50 points at Readycap Lending. The share of variable loans priced at the SBA maximum for their size went from none at several large banks to 55.0% at Readycap Lending and 43.0% at Newtek Bank. Loan size explains part of the gap, since small loans carry higher caps; lender policy explains the rest. Every figure here is counted from SBA’s own loan-level file, as of September 30, 2026.
Fee notices read and loan file counted by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The 25 busiest 7(a) lenders
| Lender | Based in | Loans | Median loan | Median margin over prime | Variable loans at the cap | Through Express |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newtek Bank | FL | 5,035 | $150,000 | 3.00 | 43.0% | 37.0% |
| Northeast Bank | ME | 3,603 | $150,000 | 3.00 | 1.0% | 0.00% |
| Huntington National Bank | OH | 3,368 | $135,450 | 2.50 | 0.00% | 45.0% |
| U.S. Bank | OH | 3,068 | $50,000 | 3.49 | 0.00% | 77.0% |
| M&T Bank | NY | 2,975 | $50,000 | 3.50 | 29.0% | 94.0% |
| Live Oak Banking | NC | 2,411 | $350,000 | 2.25 | 4.0% | 11.0% |
| TD Bank | DE | 1,953 | $50,000 | 3.00 | 0.00% | 94.0% |
| Readycap Lending | NJ | 1,494 | $50,000 | 6.50 | 55.0% | 0.00% |
| Celtic Bank | UT | 1,099 | $150,000 | 2.75 | 1.0% | 0.00% |
| Zions Bancorporation | UT | 1,031 | $114,200 | 2.25 | 0.00% | 49.0% |
| CenTrust Bank | IL | 974 | $150,000 | 4.50 | 1.0% | 0.00% |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank | OH | 921 | $200,000 | 3.65 | 31.0% | 92.0% |
| United Midwest Savings Bank | OH | 851 | $225,000 | 3.00 | 1.0% | 0.00% |
| Lendistry SBLC | CA | 814 | $160,000 | 4.50 | 26.0% | 0.00% |
| Columbia Bank | OR | 697 | $50,000 | 5.00 | 0.00% | 93.0% |
| KeyBank | OH | 563 | $166,500 | 2.49 | 0.00% | 60.0% |
| Wells Fargo Bank | SD | 531 | $613,900 | 4.50 | 9.0% | 16.0% |
| Bank of Hope | CA | 458 | $566,500 | 1.50 | 0.00% | 33.0% |
| Harvest Small Business Finance | CA | 448 | $788,500 | 2.50 | 20.0% | 0.00% |
| Bank of America | NC | 443 | $472,500 | 3.00 | 30.0% | 50.0% |
| First Bank of the Lake | MO | 438 | $412,650 | 2.50 | 18.0% | 3.0% |
| Byline Bank | IL | 427 | $960,000 | 2.75 | 3.0% | 10.0% |
| Fifth Third Bank | OH | 426 | $300,000 | 2.00 | 15.0% | 55.0% |
| Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | PR | 423 | $50,000 | 4.50 | 11.0% | 95.0% |
| Eastern Bank | MA | 321 | $80,000 | 1.50 | 0.00% | 88.0% |
Same size of loan, different prices
The fairest comparison is between loans of the same size. On loans of $50,000 or less, where the cap at approval was prime plus 6.5, the median variable rate went from 9.12% at Eastern Bank to 13.25% at Fifth Third Bank.
| Lender | Median variable rate, loans $50,000 or less | Median, $50,001 to $250,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Bank | 9.12% | 7.75% |
| Live Oak Banking | 9.49% | 10.00% |
| Huntington National Bank | 9.50% | 9.25% |
| Northeast Bank | 9.75% | 9.75% |
| TD Bank | 9.75% | 9.75% |
| Celtic Bank | 10.50% | 9.50% |
| Zions Bancorporation | 10.50% | 9.25% |
| U.S. Bank | 10.74% | 10.24% |
| KeyBank | 10.79% | 9.24% |
| CenTrust Bank | 11.50% | 11.25% |
| Columbia Bank | 11.75% | 8.75% |
| Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | 11.75% | 10.75% |
| Wells Fargo Bank | 12.00% | too few |
| Newtek Bank | 13.25% | 9.75% |
| M&T Bank | 13.25% | 9.75% |
| Readycap Lending | 13.25% | 9.50% |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank | 13.25% | 11.55% |
| Lendistry SBLC | 13.25% | 11.25% |
| Fifth Third Bank | 13.25% | 9.00% |
The address in the file is the lender’s, not its market. 5 of the 25 busiest lent in 50 or more states and territories, among them Newtek Bank, Northeast Bank, Live Oak Banking, Readycap Lending. The state pages show which lenders are busiest in each, see SBA loans by state.
Using the table with a quote in hand
Start with the margin, not the rate: subtract today’s prime, 7.00%, from the rate you were offered and compare the result with the lender’s median margin in the table. A quote well above that lender’s own median is a quote you can question with the same lender. Then compare with lenders of similar size: a bank whose median loan is $150,000 prices a different business from one whose median is $960,000. Finally, check the share at the cap. A lender that prices a large share of its small loans at the maximum will rarely move far below it; one that almost never does has room to negotiate. The calculator above runs this comparison for any of the 20 busiest lenders.
What this table cannot tell you
The file records approvals, not applications, so it says nothing about how often a lender says no. It records the rate at approval, not the fees a lender may charge within SBA’s limits. And a median hides the spread: a lender with a low median can still quote a high rate to a borrower it sees as risky. Use the figures to frame a negotiation, not to pick a lender blind. Check the rate you were offered on the rates page.