Key Takeaways
- According to SBA data, Live Oak Banking Company approved the most SBA 7(a) dollars in fiscal 2025, $2.9 billion, and Northeast Bank approved the most loans, 7,800.
- The average 7(a) loan Northeast Bank approved was $168,000, against $1.25 million at Live Oak Banking Company, according to the SBA.
- According to SBA data, the SBA approved 78,078 7(a) loans worth $37.3 billion in fiscal 2025, and its lender report names 1,426 lenders; the ten largest by dollars approved 33.7% of the dollars.
- According to SBA data, banks approved 88.8% of 7(a) dollars, lenders that are neither banks nor credit unions 8.2%, and credit unions 2.7%.
Live Oak Banking Company approved the most SBA 7(a) loan dollars in fiscal 2025, $2.9 billion, while Northeast Bank approved the most loans, 7,800, according to SBA data. The two lend at very different sizes: Northeast Bank's average 7(a) loan was $168,000, against $1.25 million at Live Oak Banking Company, according to the SBA.
In all, according to SBA data, the SBA approved 78,078 7(a) loans worth $37.3 billion in the federal fiscal year from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, and its lender report for the year names 1,426 lenders. The 26 largest by dollars approved 50.5% of those dollars, according to SBA data. Fiscal 2025 is the latest year the SBA's loan-level data covers in full.
The 50 largest SBA 7(a) lenders by number of loans
Ranked by the number of 7(a) loans each lender approved in fiscal 2025, as the SBA credits them in its lender report for the year. "Rank by dollars" is the lender's place when ranked by dollars approved instead. The type is read from the FDIC or NCUA number the SBA's loan-level data records for the lender.
| Rank | Lender | Headquarters | Type | 7(a) loans approved | Dollars approved | Average loan | Rank by dollars | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northeast Bank | Lewiston, ME | Bank | 7,800 | $1.3 billion | $168,000 | 4th | Data from the SBA |
| 2 | The Huntington National Bank | Columbus, OH | Bank | 6,807 | $1.9 billion | $273,000 | 3rd | Data from the SBA |
| 3 | Newtek Bank | Miami, FL | Bank | 4,828 | $2.0 billion | $420,000 | 2nd | Data from the SBA |
| 4 | U.S. Bank | Cincinnati, OH | Bank | 3,453 | $871 million | $252,000 | 6th | Data from the SBA |
| 5 | TD Bank | Wilmington, DE | Bank | 3,424 | $495 million | $145,000 | 14th | Data from the SBA |
| 6 | Readycap Lending, LLC ◊ | Berkeley Heights, NJ | Other lender | 3,139 | $1.2 billion | $375,000 | 5th | Data from the SBA |
| 7 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | Buffalo, NY | Bank | 2,701 | $294 million | $109,000 | 23rd | Data from the SBA |
| 8 | Live Oak Banking Company | Wilmington, NC | Bank | 2,280 | $2.9 billion | $1.25 million | 1st | Data from the SBA |
| 9 | BayFirst National Bank ◊ | Saint Petersburg, FL | Bank | 1,952 | $342 million | $175,000 | 21st | Data from the SBA |
| 10 | JPMorgan Chase Bank | Columbus, OH | Bank | 1,914 | $591 million | $309,000 | 9th | Data from the SBA |
| 11 | Lendistry SBLC, LLC | Los Angeles, CA | Other lender | 1,849 | $385 million | $208,000 | 18th | Data from the SBA |
| 12 | Wells Fargo Bank | Sioux Falls, SD | Bank | 1,607 | $539 million | $335,000 | 12th | Data from the SBA |
| 13 | Celtic Bank Corporation | Salt Lake City, UT | Bank | 1,482 | $593 million | $400,000 | 8th | Data from the SBA |
| 14 | Zions Bank | Salt Lake City, UT | Bank | 1,217 | $240 million | $197,000 | 28th | Data from the SBA |
| 15 | United Midwest Savings Bank | De Graff, OH | Bank | 963 | $381 million | $395,000 | 19th | Data from the SBA |
| 16 | Bank of America | Charlotte, NC | Bank | 908 | $522 million | $575,000 | 13th | Data from the SBA |
| 17 | Cadence Bank ◊ | Tupelo, MS | Bank | 786 | $400 million | $509,000 | 17th | Data from the SBA |
| 18 | KeyBank | Cleveland, OH | Bank | 736 | $225 million | $306,000 | 30th | Data from the SBA |
| 19 | Columbia Bank | Lake Oswego, OR | Bank | 649 | $66 million | $102,000 | 103rd | Data from the SBA |
| 20 | First Bank of the Lake | Osage Beach, MO | Bank | 643 | $434 million | $675,000 | 16th | Data from the SBA |
| 21 | Byline Bank | Chicago, IL | Bank | 505 | $561 million | $1.11 million | 10th | Data from the SBA |
| 22 | First Internet Bank of Indiana | Fishers, IN | Bank | 487 | $712 million | $1.46 million | 7th | Data from the SBA |
| 23 | Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC | Laguna Hills, CA | Other lender | 472 | $446 million | $945,000 | 15th | Data from the SBA |
| 24 | Bank of Hope | Los Angeles, CA | Bank | 382 | $306 million | $801,000 | 22nd | Data from the SBA |
| 25 | Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | San Juan, PR | Bank | 380 | $48 million | $126,000 | 139th | Data from the SBA |
| 26 | CDC Small Business Finance Corp. | San Diego, CA | Other lender | 356 | $58 million | $162,000 | 121st | Data from the SBA |
| 27 | PNC Bank | Wilmington, DE | Bank | 341 | $100 million | $293,000 | 75th | Data from the SBA |
| 28 | CenTrust Bank, A Division of SmartBiz Bank | Northbrook, IL | Bank | 334 | $71 million | $214,000 | 96th | Data from the SBA |
| 29 | Eastern Bank | Boston, MA | Bank | 321 | $49 million | $152,000 | 137th | Data from the SBA |
| 30 | Citizens Bank | Elizabethton, TN | Bank | 303 | $213 million | $705,000 | 33rd | Data from the SBA |
| 31 | Banner Bank | Walla Walla, WA | Bank | 281 | $75 million | $266,000 | 92nd | Data from the SBA |
| 32 | Fifth Third Bank | Cincinnati, OH | Bank | 269 | $177 million | $657,000 | 41st | Data from the SBA |
| 33 | Mountain America Federal Credit Union | Sandy, UT | Credit union | 259 | $80 million | $309,000 | 88th | Data from the SBA |
| 34 | Beacon Bank and Trust | Brookline, MA | Bank | 255 | $269 million | $1.06 million | 26th | Data from the SBA |
| 35 | Colony Bank | Fitzgerald, GA | Bank | 243 | $99 million | $407,000 | 76th | Data from the SBA |
| 36 | Old National Bank | Evansville, IN | Bank | 229 | $207 million | $903,000 | 35th | Data from the SBA |
| 37 | SouthState Bank | Winter Haven, FL | Bank | 229 | $121 million | $528,000 | 64th | Data from the SBA |
| 38 | Port 51 Lending LLC | New York, NY | Other lender | 226 | $354 million | $1.57 million | 20th | Data from the SBA |
| 39 | Stone Bank | Mountain View, AR | Bank | 226 | $88 million | $389,000 | 82nd | Data from the SBA |
| 40 | First Commonwealth Bank | Indiana, PA | Bank | 218 | $133 million | $609,000 | 56th | Data from the SBA |
| 41 | Hanmi Bank | Los Angeles, CA | Bank | 214 | $181 million | $847,000 | 39th | Data from the SBA |
| 42 | Webster Bank | Waterbury, CT | Bank | 208 | $82 million | $396,000 | 84th | Data from the SBA |
| 43 | GBank | Las Vegas, NV | Bank | 205 | $552 million | $2.69 million | 11th | Data from the SBA |
| 44 | Grasshopper Bank | New York, NY | Bank | 201 | $101 million | $503,000 | 74th | Data from the SBA |
| 45 | VelocitySBA, LLC | Costa Mesa, CA | Other lender | 193 | $182 million | $942,000 | 38th | Data from the SBA |
| 46 | Bank Five Nine | Oconomowoc, WI | Bank | 192 | $135 million | $704,000 | 54th | Data from the SBA |
| 47 | Veritex Community Bank ◊ | Dallas, TX | Bank | 191 | $229 million | $1.20 million | 29th | Data from the SBA |
| 48 | First National Bank of Pennsylvania | Greenville, PA | Bank | 188 | $185 million | $983,000 | 37th | Data from the SBA |
| 49 | Regions Bank | Birmingham, AL | Bank | 187 | $158 million | $847,000 | 45th | Data from the SBA |
| 50 | Heritage Bank Inc | Burlington, KY | Bank | 185 | $131 million | $708,000 | 58th | Data from the SBA |
Download this table (CSV), free. The full dataset, every lender that approved a 7(a) loan in the year with both ranks, its SBA lender ID, FDIC or NCUA number and median loan, is one email away.
◊ The SBA's loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026, lists some of this lender's fiscal 2025 loans under another lender: Cadence Bank merged into The Huntington National Bank; Veritex Community Bank merged into The Huntington National Bank; 57 of BayFirst National Bank's loans are listed under Banesco USA; Readycap Lending, LLC: its loan-level rows are 2 loans and $8 million short, exactly what those of FDIC - Community Bank & Trust-West Georgia are over. The row shows the approvals the SBA credited to it for the year.
The ten largest by dollars
Ranked by the dollars of 7(a) loans approved in fiscal 2025. According to SBA data, the ten approved 33.7% of all 7(a) dollars in the year.
| Rank | Lender | Type | Dollars approved | Share of 7(a) dollars | 7(a) loans approved | Average loan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking Company | Bank | $2.9 billion | 7.7% | 2,280 | $1.25 million | Data from the SBA |
| 2 | Newtek Bank | Bank | $2.0 billion | 5.4% | 4,828 | $420,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 3 | The Huntington National Bank | Bank | $1.9 billion | 5.0% | 6,807 | $273,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 4 | Northeast Bank | Bank | $1.3 billion | 3.5% | 7,800 | $168,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 5 | Readycap Lending, LLC | Other lender | $1.2 billion | 3.2% | 3,139 | $375,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 6 | U.S. Bank | Bank | $871 million | 2.3% | 3,453 | $252,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 7 | First Internet Bank of Indiana | Bank | $712 million | 1.9% | 487 | $1.46 million | Data from the SBA |
| 8 | Celtic Bank Corporation | Bank | $593 million | 1.6% | 1,482 | $400,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 9 | JPMorgan Chase Bank | Bank | $591 million | 1.6% | 1,914 | $309,000 | Data from the SBA |
| 10 | Byline Bank | Bank | $561 million | 1.5% | 505 | $1.11 million | Data from the SBA |
A ranking by loans and a ranking by dollars name different lenders because average loan sizes differ so much. According to SBA data, the program's average loan in fiscal 2025 was $478,000, and 30.9% of loans were approved under SBA Express, the program's faster process for lower loan amounts.
Banks, credit unions and other lenders
According to SBA data, banks approved 88.8% of 7(a) dollars in fiscal 2025. Lenders that are neither banks nor credit unions, such as companies the SBA licenses to make its loans and nonprofit community lenders, approved 8.2%, and credit unions 2.7%. The credit union with the most 7(a) loans, Mountain America Federal Credit Union, ranks 33rd by loans.
| Lender type | Lenders | 7(a) loans approved | Share of loans | Dollars approved | Share of dollars | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | 1,152 | 68,556 | 87.8% | $33.1 billion | 88.8% | Data from the SBA, SBA FOIA data |
| Credit unions | 165 | 1,931 | 2.5% | $1.0 billion | 2.7% | Data from the SBA, SBA FOIA data |
| Neither bank nor credit union | 102 | 7,489 | 9.6% | $3.1 billion | 8.2% | Data from the SBA, SBA FOIA data |
| Not matched to the loan-level data | 7 | 35 | 0.0% | $25 million | 0.1% | Data from the SBA |
| Not credited to a listed lender | – | 67 | 0.1% | $48 million | 0.1% | Data from the SBA |
| All 7(a) loans in the year | 1,426 | 78,078 | 100.0% | $37.3 billion | 100.0% | Data from the SBA |
What this means for technology buyers
An SBA loan carries more process than a conventional business loan: eligibility checks, the guaranty application, closing documents in the SBA's format, and reporting to the SBA for the life of the loan. A lender approving thousands of modest loans a year needs that process largely automated, while a lender making fewer, larger loans spends more of its effort on underwriting each one. These guides compare the options side by side:
- Loan servicing platforms for specialty finance: servicing and investor reporting for loan books such as SBA portfolios.
- Commercial loan origination systems: the application, underwriting and closing workflow for business loans.
- Underwriting workflow automation for commercial banks: automating the credit memo and approval steps.
Planning the change before choosing the vendor? The Retail Bank Business Capability Model maps what a bank does, including the business lending a 7(a) program sits in.
More from Finantrix Atlas
- Largest US commercial and industrial lenders
- Largest US commercial real estate lenders
- Largest community banks in the US
- Largest banks in the US, ranked by total assets
How this list was built
Lenders are ranked on the 7(a) loans the SBA credits to them in its 7(a) Lender Activity Report for fiscal 2025, which covers approvals from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, as of September 30, 2025. Loan counts and dollars are gross approvals: the amount of each loan when the SBA approved its guaranty.
The SBA also publishes every 7(a) loan individually in its 7(a) and 504 FOIA data, as of June 30, 2026. According to SBA data, that file's loans for fiscal 2025 add up exactly to the program total in the SBA's Yearly Activity Report, 78,078 loans and $37.3 billion. The lender report credits 78,011 of those loans to named lenders; shares on this page are of the program total.
Every lender in the tables was matched to its SBA lender ID in the loan-level file, by name and state first, then by rules applied in order, and each lender's loans and dollars there equal its row here exactly, once any of its loans the file lists under another lender are counted with it. The loan-level file names the lender a loan is assigned to on its as-of date, not the one that approved it, so a lender that has merged or been renamed since the year ended shows its loans under another name; those rows are marked ◊ and the note under the table says where the loans now sit. Across the program, 2,332 of the year's loans were reconciled that way, and 139, 0.18% of the total in SBA data, could not be traced lender by lender. Every match and the rule that made it is in the full dataset.
Limits
- 7(a) only. The SBA's 504 loans are made through certified development companies alongside a private lender, and are not part of this ranking. Disaster loans and the Paycheck Protection Program are separate programs and are not counted.
- Approvals, not disbursements. A loan is counted in the year its guaranty was approved. According to the SBA's loan-level data, 13,982 of the year's approvals, 17.9%, had been canceled by June 30, 2026; they are counted here, as the SBA counts them.
- Lenders as the SBA names them. A lender is counted under the name and headquarters in the SBA's report. A group that lends through more than one charter or company appears once for each.
- One fiscal year. The data covers October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. The SBA publishes lender figures for later months before its loan-level data covers them; this page moves to the next year once the loan-level file covers it in full.
Cite this
Free to quote, cite and republish, including the chart, with credit to Finantrix Atlas and a link to this page.
Live Oak Banking Company approved $2.9 billion in SBA 7(a) loans in fiscal 2025, more than any other lender, while Northeast Bank approved the most loans, 7,800, according to a Finantrix Atlas analysis of SBA data.
The SBA approved 78,078 7(a) loans worth $37.3 billion in fiscal 2025 through 1,426 lenders, according to Finantrix Atlas, from SBA data.
Suggested citation: Finantrix Atlas, "Largest SBA 7(a) Lenders," fiscal 2025, from the US Small Business Administration's 7(a) Lender Activity Report and 7(a) FOIA data. https://www.finantrix.com/articles/largest-small-business-lenders-sba
Embed the chart:
<a href="https://www.finantrix.com/articles/largest-small-business-lenders-sba"><img src="https://www.finantrix.com/atlas/largest-small-business-lenders-sba.png" alt="The largest SBA 7(a) lenders by dollars approved, from SBA data, by Finantrix Atlas"></a>
<p>Chart: <a href="https://www.finantrix.com/articles/largest-small-business-lenders-sba">Finantrix Atlas</a>, from SBA data.</p>
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who is the largest SBA lender? A: According to SBA data, by dollars it is Live Oak Banking Company, which approved $2.9 billion in 7(a) loans in fiscal 2025, and by number of loans Northeast Bank, with 7,800.
Q: How many SBA 7(a) loans were approved in fiscal 2025? A: 78,078, worth $37.3 billion, according to the SBA, whose lender report for the year names 1,426 lenders.
Q: What is the average SBA 7(a) loan? A: $478,000 in fiscal 2025, according to SBA data, and it varies widely by lender: $168,000 at Northeast Bank and $1.25 million at Live Oak Banking Company.
Q: Do credit unions make SBA loans? A: Yes. According to SBA data, credit unions approved 2.7% of 7(a) dollars in fiscal 2025; the most active, Mountain America Federal Credit Union, approved 259 loans.
Q: What fiscal year does the SBA use? A: The federal fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal 2025 ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
Download the data
The 50 rows on this page (CSV), free. The full dataset has all 1,426 rows, as of September 30, 2025; we email you a link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the largest SBA lender?
According to SBA data, by dollars it is Live Oak Banking Company, which approved $2.9 billion in 7(a) loans in fiscal 2025, and by number of loans Northeast Bank, with 7,800.
How many SBA 7(a) loans were approved in fiscal 2025?
78,078, worth $37.3 billion, according to the SBA, whose lender report for the year names 1,426 lenders.
What is the average SBA 7(a) loan?
$478,000 in fiscal 2025, according to SBA data, and it varies widely by lender: $168,000 at Northeast Bank and $1.25 million at Live Oak Banking Company.
Do credit unions make SBA loans?
Yes. According to SBA data, credit unions approved 2.7% of 7(a) dollars in fiscal 2025; the most active, Mountain America Federal Credit Union, approved 259 loans.
What fiscal year does the SBA use?
The federal fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal 2025 ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.