SBA

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is calling for more scrutiny of 10 lenders that were ejected from a Department of Agriculture program. Several of the lenders are pushing back, questioning officials' characterizations of their lending results and announcing appeal plans.

While the move is seen in a positive light, lenders and Trump administration officials are still angling to raise the loan-size limit within the agency's flagship 7(a) program.

The move comes about a year after rising delinquency levels prompted SBA to raise lender fees and tightened underwriting standards in its flagship 7(a) program.

Sens. Ed Markey and Ron Wyden argue that the Small Business Administration neglected to warn small firms of the risks of merchant cash advances and closed off a key "escape route" from the resulting debts.

Almost 60 SBA loans originated by Community Bank & Trust — West Georgia were classified as noncurrent, according to Small Business Administration records. Last week, Community became the second U.S. bank to fail in 2026.

BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg named veteran Tampa-area banker Al Rogers as its CEO and announced an $80 million capital raise. The bank sold its SBA-lending business last year, but it's still struggling to work through problems in its legacy loan portfolio.

Celtic Bank is the latest large Small Business Administration lender to turn to an AI origination platform for smaller-dollar loans. Live Oak Bank, which has been piloting the same platform, says it's poised for big growth in the same segment.

The Chicago-based lender service provider, which has helped build Northeast Bank in Maine into an SBA powerhouse, has expanded its capacity with an AI-driven technology upgrade.

As the Trump administration limits access to only U.S. citizens, volume in the Small Business Administration's flagship loan program is already trailing the 2025 pace. Experts predict that the tighter eligibility criteria will send more loans to nonbanks.

The Small Business Administration plans to bar green-card holders from receiving federal small-business loans. The result will be devastating for large swathes of the U.S. economy, costing jobs and cutting tax revenue.

The Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act would double the loan-size threshold for SBA manufacturing loans to $10 million. It would be the first change to the limit since 2010.

The latest directive, which takes effect in March, allows only U.S. citizens and nationals to seek government-guaranteed financing. It's drawing criticism from Democrats in Congress, small-business advocates and some lenders.

Democratic senators are attributing a recent decline in lending activity to a Trump administration regulation that puts new restrictions on borrowers with foreign ownership.

Banesco USA in Miami is among the banks that are eyeing the government-guaranteed lending program as a source of growth.

BayFirst Financial, which has reported problems with SBA loans, expects to reach an agreement with its regulators in connection with credit administration and other issues.

Top SBA lenders are warning about the impact of a prolonged shutdown. NewtekOne skipped providing fourth-quarter guidance after its CEO said the situation was too cloudy to forecast.

A number of banks experienced major increases in 7(a) lending activity during SBA's recently completed fiscal year, as program-wide loan volume topped $37 billion for the first time.

BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg shuttered a national small-dollar 7(a) loan program in August. Now the $2.4 billion institution, which has been one of the nation's most active SBA lenders over the past decade, is making a clean break from the business.

A Small Business Administration policy enacted during the second Trump administration blocks not only people who are in the country illegally, but also legal temporary residents and even some U.S. citizens, from accessing government-guaranteed loans.

Lendistry, one of the nation's fastest-growing SBA 7(a) lenders, is getting a $25 million infusion from TD's community development arm.