Best lenders
Which lenders actually make small business loans
Under $100,000 is the hardest money in the market to find. These lenders write it anyway.
Small loans are the hardest money in this market to find, which surprises people who assume asking for less makes approval easier. It does not. The lender's cost to underwrite a $40,000 loan is close to its cost on a $2 million one, and the revenue is not, so most lenders quietly set a floor and decline below it.
| # | Lender | Loans | Median loan | Median rate | To startups | Charge-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wells Fargo Bank | 6,069 | $20,000 | 13.00% | 86.4% | 7.9% |
| 2 | Central Pacific Bank | 310 | $40,000 | 10.50% | 49.7% | 9.2% |
| 3 | U.S. Bank | 9,822 | $45,000 | 9.49% | 34.0% | 6.4% |
| 4 | Columbia Bank | 2,074 | $50,000 | 12.50% | 10.6% | 8.5% |
| 5 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 7,591 | $50,000 | 11.25% | 40.9% | 7.9% |
| 6 | PNC Bank | 1,667 | $50,000 | 11.50% | 38.1% | 8.3% |
| 7 | TD Bank | 10,921 | $50,000 | 11.50% | 28.9% | 14.6% |
| 8 | KeyBank | 2,504 | $50,000 | 10.77% | 68.3% | 4.5% |
| 9 | Mountain America FCU | 678 | $50,000 | 10.25% | 36.4% | 3.8% |
| 10 | Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | 1,321 | $50,000 | 11.75% | 31.2% | 4.7% |
| 11 | Esl Fcu | 286 | $50,000 | 9.25% | 39.2% | 6.1% |
| 12 | Eastern Bank | 1,223 | $75,000 | 10.00% | 16.1% | 7.1% |
| 13 | 1st Source Bank | 290 | $75,000 | 9.75% | 59.7% | 2.9% |
| 14 | The Huntington National Bank | 25,303 | $100,000 | 10.25% | 43.3% | 6.2% |
| 15 | Banner Bank | 833 | $100,000 | 9.25% | 19.4% | 3.5% |
| 16 | PlainsCapital Bank | 286 | $100,000 | 10.25% | 43.0% | 7.3% |
| 17 | Northeast Bank | 6,457 | $105,000 | 10.75% | 11.2% | 12.4% |
| 18 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 7,695 | $108,000 | 11.25% | 13.6% | 6.4% |
| 19 | Oriental Bank | 366 | $112,500 | 8.25% | 50.8% | 8.4% |
| 20 | Zions Bank | 2,678 | $114,150 | 10.00% | 35.3% | 6.1% |
| 21 | CDC Small Business Finance Corp | 1,055 | $150,000 | 11.25% | 58.4% | 18.8% |
| 22 | BayFirst National Bank | 6,974 | $150,000 | 12.25% | 1.9% | 21.7% |
| 23 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 3,776 | $150,000 | 10.25% | 16.8% | 18.7% |
| 24 | Five Star Bank | 485 | $150,000 | 10.25% | 31.5% | 7.8% |
| 25 | United Midwest Savings Bank | 2,807 | $150,000 | 10.25% | 80.0% | 18.6% |
| 26 | Colony Bank | 958 | $150,000 | 11.50% | 16.7% | 9.1% |
| 27 | Lendistry SBLC, LLC | 3,397 | $150,000 | 12.25% | 0.7% | 21.4% |
| 28 | Stone Bank | 356 | $150,000 | 10.50% | 12.9% | 15.9% |
| 29 | Heritage Bank Inc | 557 | $150,000 | 11.75% | 11.5% | n/a |
| 30 | CenTrust Bank | 1,107 | $150,000 | 11.25% | 2.0% | 4.1% |
A note that applies to every table on this page. Loans, median loan, median rate and startup share are that lender's recent 7(a) lending, fiscal years 2023 to 2026, using data released June 2026. Charge-off is necessarily computed on an older set of loans — cohorts old enough to have either been repaid or failed — because a loan approved last year has not had time to go bad. They are not the same loans, and a lender that has changed its credit standards will look inconsistent across the two. Read them as two separate facts about the same institution.
What a small median actually signals
A low median loan size means the lender has built a process that makes small loans economic — usually heavy automation, a standard product, and little negotiation. That has consequences you should expect going in.
- The product is take-it-or-leave-it. Terms are standardized because that is the only way the economics work.
- Rates run higher. Compare the rate column here with the lowest-rate table. You are paying for the lender's willingness to do a small deal.
- Decisions are faster, because they are largely automated.
- Startup share is often high. Small loan, new business, standard product — these tend to travel together.
What a $50,000 loan actually costs
Before you borrow a small amount at a high rate, see the real payment and the cash flow you need to support it on the $50,000 business loan page, which is built from the same data.
The other rankings
Most active lenders
Who actually makes the most SBA loans, by volume.
Lowest rates
Ranked on the rate borrowers actually got, not advertised ranges.
Small loans
Who lends under $100,000, which is the hardest money to find.
Large loans
Lenders whose typical deal runs past $1 million.
Track record
Charge-off rates by lender, including the ones nobody publishes.
Lenders who fund startups
Ranked by startup loans actually made.