Study a real deal
One listed business a day, run through our standard SBA 7(a) structure: what we would pay, how we would fund it, and which lenders we would call.
See the latest dealSBA 7(a) requires a minimum equity injection of 10% of the total project cost, and a seller note on full standby can cover up to half of it. On a $1M deal that is about $100k down, and sometimes half that in cash.
No broker math. Every number traced to its source.
Only 1.70% of SBA loans used to buy an existing business fail. Startups fail at 3.65%.
Failure = the loan was charged off, meaning SBA wrote it off as a loss. FY2020-22 cohort, 137,671 loans, federal loan file.
Three things, done properly: the deal, the math, and the lender.
One listed business a day, run through our standard SBA 7(a) structure: what we would pay, how we would fund it, and which lenders we would call.
See the latest dealModel SDE, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SOP rules. No broker math, every assumption visible.
Open the analyzer843 lenders funded acquisitions in the federal file. We profile the 249 most active in depth: loan counts, median sizes, and the rates they actually approve.
See the league tableTop 7(a) change-of-ownership lenders, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3.
| # | Lender | Loans | $M approved | Median size | Median rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington National Bank | 1,476 | $1,182 | $349,500 | 9.25% |
| 2 | Live Oak Banking Company | 1,197 | $1,553 | $825,000 | 9.00% |
| 3 | First Internet Bank of Indiana | 395 | $551 | $939,000 | 10.00% |
| 4 | Byline Bank | 289 | $365 | $902,000 | 10.00% |
| 5 | Hanmi Bank | 215 | $182 | $657,000 | 9.00% |
| 6 | GBank | 174 | $521 | $2,840,000 | 8.50%lowest |
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA file, change-of-ownership loans, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology
See all 249 profiled lendersModel SDE, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SOP rules. No broker math, every assumption visible.
Essays, data studies, and rule breakdowns for people buying a small business with SBA financing.
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