Longer terms, for those who can wait for them.
Conventional and SBA-backed loans through bank partners. Slower to close than anything else we place, and carried over years rather than months, which is the point.
What it is
An SBA loan is a bank loan the Small Business Administration partly guarantees. The guarantee reduces the bank's risk, which is why these loans run to terms and amounts that other products do not: the SBA's 7(a) program allows working capital over up to ten years, equipment and real estate over up to twenty-five, in amounts up to $5 million. Conventional bank loans sit alongside them for files that fit a bank's own criteria.
The trade is time and paperwork. A bank file takes weeks, sometimes longer, and asks for financial statements, tax returns and a personal guarantee. We help assemble it, take it to bank partners that actually lend at your size and in your industry, and keep it moving.
- Amount
- Up to $5,000,000 under SBA 7(a)
- Timing
- Weeks
- Term
- Up to 10 years for working capital, 25 for real estate
- Backing
- Partly guaranteed by the SBA
Why it fits
The longest terms available
Payments spread over years, which keeps the monthly amount small relative to the loan.
Backed by the SBA
The government guarantee is why banks lend on these terms at all.
The largest amounts
Up to $5 million through 7(a), for the projects nothing short-term can cover.
Broad use
Working capital, equipment, real estate, refinancing existing debt, buying a business.
Builds a bank relationship
A loan repaid on schedule is the start of a banking history that makes the next one easier.
Predictable
The structure is set at closing and does not change with sales.
How it works
We assemble the file
Two to three years of financials, tax returns, a debt schedule, and the story of what the loan is for. We tell you exactly what is needed and why.
It goes to bank partners that fit
Banks specialise. A file goes to the ones that lend at your size, in your industry, on the timeline you have.
Underwriting, then closing
Expect questions and follow-up requests over a few weeks. Once approved, closing involves the SBA paperwork, the guarantee and any collateral filings.
The programs
SBA 7(a)
The general-purpose program and the most common. Working capital, equipment, real estate, acquisitions, up to $5 million.
SBA 504
Real estate and long-lived equipment, with a certified development company funding part of the deal alongside the bank. Larger amounts, longer terms.
SBA Express
A smaller, faster version of 7(a), for loans and lines up to $500,000.
SBA Microloans
Up to $50,000 through nonprofit intermediaries, for very small or early businesses.
Conventional bank loan
A bank's own loan without the SBA guarantee, for established businesses with strong statements. Often quicker than SBA.
Questions
About SBA and bank loans
SBA and Bank Loans
From a complete file, commonly four to eight weeks to funding, sometimes faster with SBA Express, sometimes longer if the file is complicated. If the need is urgent, this is not the product; something faster can bridge to it.
7(a) is general purpose and the most common. 504 is for real estate and major equipment, with a certified development company funding part of the deal alongside the bank, and it tends to take longer.
Banks usually take what is available and ask for a personal guarantee from owners with a meaningful stake. The SBA guarantee reduces what the bank needs but does not remove it.
The programs do serve younger businesses, particularly microloans and some 7(a) files with a strong plan and relevant experience. Banks weigh the whole picture.
Trades that usually reach for it
The other ways to structure it
If this was not quite the one, the fit is usually one of these.