Ranked from SBA loan data to 30 June 2026
Top SBA Lenders and Largest SBA Lenders for Business Acquisition Loans Ranked by State
The top SBA lenders for buying a business are Live Oak Bank and Huntington National Bank. In fiscal 2025 Live Oak approved $992.6 million across 769 change of ownership 7(a) loans and Huntington $703.8 million across 878, together 19% of the $8.82 billion SBA guaranteed for business purchases. First Internet Bank of Indiana, GBank and Byline Bank complete the top five by dollars.
Verified MRR, churn and growth on every listing · no buyer success fee · from $99 a month · cancel any month
SBA 7(a) loans to buy a business in , Oct 2024 to Jun 2026. Most active lenders:
- median loan
- No acquisition loans in this size band here yet. Try any size.
Ask at least two of these lenders for a term sheet. A lender that closes acquisition loans every month in your state already knows how its SBA reviewer reads a goodwill-heavy deal.
Ranked by approved loans flagged change of ownership in SBA's public loan data · not a lender endorsement
We ranked them from SBA’s own 7(a) loan file, released with data to 30 June 2026, counting only loans whose business age field reads Change of Ownership. That is how SBA records a loan used to buy an existing business. It produces a very different list from the overall rankings most sites publish. Newtek Bank and Northeast Bank are the third and fourth largest SBA lenders by total volume, yet Newtek made 62 acquisition loans in fiscal 2025 and Northeast Bank made none. JPMorgan Chase approved 1,914 7(a) loans that year and two of them financed a change of ownership.
The finder above shows the five most active acquisition lenders in your state and loan size band, from 1 October 2024 to 30 June 2026. Volume measures experience, not price or service, so use it to decide whom to call, then compare term sheets. The figures are approvals, not closings, and none of this is a lender endorsement or financial advice.
The lender decides how much you can borrow. The business you buy decides whether you can pay it back, so check that first.
SBA 7(a) loan data, fiscal year 2025
The 15 largest SBA lenders for business acquisitions
Fiscal year 2025 runs from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. Only loans SBA records as a change of ownership are counted, ranked by dollars approved.
Swipe to see every column →
| Lender | Acquisition loans | Dollars approved | Median loan | Median starting rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Live Oak Bank | 769 | $992.6M | $800,000 | 9.25% |
| 2. Huntington National Bank | 878 | $703.8M | $350,000 | 9.50% |
| 3. First Internet Bank of Indiana | 251 | $382.9M | $1,107,000 | 10.25% |
| 4. GBank | 123 | $355.6M | $2,750,000 | 8.75% |
| 5. Byline Bank | 164 | $212.0M | $900,000 | 10.25% |
| 6. ReadyCap Lending | 81 | $182.9M | $1,976,000 | 9.50% |
| 7. Beacon Bank and Trust | 90 | $155.0M | $1,312,500 | 9.75% |
| 8. Truliant FCU | 105 | $147.8M | $1,125,000 | 10.25% |
| 9. Pathward | 61 | $141.0M | $1,743,300 | 9.75% |
| 10. T Bank | 64 | $127.8M | $1,836,150 | 9.75% |
| 11. Open Bank | 68 | $125.7M | $1,150,000 | 9.00% |
| 12. Celtic Bank | 88 | $121.0M | $886,300 | 10.00% |
| 13. Hanmi Bank | 134 | $115.8M | $677,000 | 9.38% |
| 14. Port 51 Lending | 65 | $109.3M | $1,355,000 | 10.25% |
| 15. PCB Bank | 75 | $99.0M | $688,000 | 9.25% |
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan file FY2020 to present, as of 30 June 2026, downloaded from data.sba.gov on 8 October 2026. Rows with BusinessAge = Change of Ownership and ApprovalFY 2025; 7,533 loans from 706 lenders. Median starting rate is the initial rate at approval, our calculation; prime moved from 8.00% to 7.25% during the year, so compare lenders on the spread they quote you today, not on these medians. Bank names shortened.
Our arithmetic on the same SBA file
SBA loans to buy a business by fiscal year
Change of ownership 7(a) loans approved each fiscal year. Fiscal 2025 was the busiest year in the file, and the first nine months of fiscal 2026 are running a little behind that pace.
Swipe to see every column →
| Fiscal year | Acquisition loans | Dollars approved | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5,551 | $5.66B | $601,700 |
| 2021 | 6,619 | $7.48B | $694,600 |
| 2022 | 4,983 | $5.73B | $700,000 |
| 2023 | 5,043 | $5.50B | $640,000 |
| 2024 | 6,054 | $6.73B | $655,000 |
| 2025 | 7,533 | $8.82B | $700,000 |
| 2026, October to June | 4,772 | $5.64B | $720,000 |
Same source and filter as the lender table. In fiscal 2025, 77% of these loans were made under SBA’s Preferred Lenders Program, 88% carried a variable rate and 73% had a 10 year term; most 25 year terms include real estate. The whole 7(a) program approved $37.29 billion that year, so acquisitions were about 24% of it.
Get two term sheets from lenders who close acquisitions every month
Volume tells you who has seen deals like yours, not who will price yours best. A lender that approved forty acquisition loans in your state last year knows how its credit committee treats goodwill, seller notes and a buyer who has never run the business. A bank that made two will learn on your file. Ask two of the leaders in the finder for a term sheet on the same deal and compare the rate spread, the equity they want and how they treat the seller note.
Every one of these lenders underwrites the business you are buying, starting with its historical earnings. Buyouts lists SaaS businesses with verified MRR, churn and growth, so the numbers you hand a lender are already checked. Buyer access is $99 a month with no success fee.
Side by side
Acquisition lenders against the overall SBA lender rankings
A fair look at what each does well. Both are useful. Here is where they differ.
| Feature | Buyouts | Ranked by all 7(a) loans |
|---|---|---|
| Number one | Live Oak Bank, $992.6M across 769 acquisition loans | Live Oak Bank, $2.85B across 2,280 loans of every kind |
| Newtek Bank | 62 acquisition loans, 2.3% of its 7(a) dollars | Third largest at $2.03B |
| Northeast Bank | No acquisition loans | Fourth largest at $1.32B across 7,815 loans |
| JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo | 2 and 9 acquisition loans | $591M and $539M overall |
| Specialists | GBank and First Internet Bank put 64% and 54% of their 7(a) dollars into acquisitions | Ranked 11th and 7th, easy to overlook |
| Concentration | Top two lenders hold 19% of acquisition dollars, top ten 39% | Spread across thousands of working capital and real estate loans |
Comparison reflects general, publicly understood positioning. Capabilities change, so check each marketplace for the latest. Trademarks belong to their owners.
Why founders and buyers pick Buyouts
One deal room built specifically for AI SaaS
Two lenders make one acquisition loan in five
Live Oak and Huntington approved 1,647 of the 7,533 change of ownership loans in fiscal 2025. They split the market by size: Huntington’s median acquisition loan was $350,000, Live Oak’s $800,000. Above $1 million the field widens to GBank, ReadyCap, Pathward and T Bank, whose medians run from $1.7 million to $2.75 million.
Big bank brands rarely finance purchases
Chase, Wells Fargo and Newtek appear near the top of every SBA ranking, but almost all of that volume is working capital, equipment and real estate for businesses that already exist. If your plan is to call your own bank first, check its acquisition count in the finder before you spend a month on its application.
Software acquisitions are rare in the SBA file
From October 2019 to June 2026, SBA approved only 73 change of ownership loans to software publishers and hosting businesses, median $1.0 million. Live Oak made 13 of them. Lenders can finance a SaaS purchase, but expect the credit team to ask more about churn and customer concentration than it would on a plumbing company.
Keep reading on the parts of a deal this page touches: our review of Live Oak Bank SBA acquisition loans, our review of Huntington National Bank SBA acquisition loans, the full guide to an SBA loan to buy a business, the business acquisition loan calculator with payment and DSCR, the SBA guaranty fee on your loan size, what a broker may charge to place the loan, how lenders underwrite a SaaS acquisition, the down payment an SBA lender will ask for.
Good questions
Top SBA lenders, answered
More comparisons
See how Buyouts compares
Acquire.com alternative
An AI-SaaS-native marketplace with verified metrics, published multiples and vetted buyers, not a generalist startup listing wall.
vs FlippaFlippa alternative
A curated, metrics-verified, vetted-buyer marketplace for AI SaaS, not a high-volume auction wall.
vs MicroAcquireMicroAcquire alternative
An AI-SaaS-focused marketplace with verified metrics and real deal-flow tooling, not a generalist micro-startup feed.
vs Empire FlippersEmpire Flippers alternative
A self-serve, AI-SaaS-native marketplace with published multiples and escrow, not a content and eComm brokerage.
vs FE InternationalFE International alternative
A self-serve, AI-SaaS-native marketplace with verified metrics and published multiples, not a high-minimum sell-side advisory.
vs Seller financingSeller financing calculator
Monthly payment, balloon, total interest and the IRS minimum rate for a seller note on a business purchase, with the SBA standby rules built in.
The deal room for AI SaaS, not a yard sale
Buy with verified metrics, published multiples and escrow-backed closes, or list your AI SaaS to a pool of vetted, capital-qualified buyers.
Listing figures are published by their sellers and self-reported · valuation content is educational, not a guaranteed sale price or return · trademarks belong to their owners