Coleman Report

April 2, 2026 EDIT: The following is a letter I received from BayFirst President & CEO Tom Zernick. With his approval, I am publishing his response to our previous reporting, clarifying BayFirst is current with its SBA obligations and no payments are outstanding to the agency. Good morning, Bob: I’m writing to address several aspects…

March 23, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Main Street Monday: Quick Service Restaurants Shifting Costs from Labor to Physical Layout Persistent cost pressures and uneven traffic are forcing a deeper rethink of how quick-service restaurants are staffed, built, and run. These are the conclusions from the Citizens Bank Restaurant Industry Insights Feb 2026 report.  Operators…

March 20, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Fraud Friday: Bank CFO Convicted for Inflated Invoices in $4.3 Million Construction Car Wash Loan Scheme Aaron Luneke served as Chief Financial Officer of Bank of the Valley in Columbus, Nebraska, from July 2018 through May 2022. On March 6, a jury convicted him of one count of…

March 19, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Movers & Shakers: David Harper, Ellie Kauffman, & Josh Rawls David Harper Joins North State Bank’s Government Lending Team as VP and BDO North State Bank has announced the addition of David Harper to its Government Lending team, strengthening the bank’s ability to support small business growth across…

March 18, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher SBA to Review Loans Approved from August 2023 through December 2024 for Eligibility at Guaranty Purchase  The OIG says SBA failed to document 38% of Etran error codes clearances for eligibility for 7(a) borrowers between August 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024. SBA will now “flag 73,302 loans…

March 17, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher SBA Hot Topic Tuesday: SBA 504 Top 100 Lenders as of 2/28/26

March 16, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Main Street Monday: NFIB Says Small Biz Optimism OK When asked to evaluate the overall health of their business in February, NFIB  says 15% rated their small business as excellent, 55% as good, 26% as fair, and 5% as poor. “Although optimism declined slightly, small businesses report feeling…

Benchmark Your SBA Lending Team with the Industry’s Most Trusted Compensation Data For more than 25 years, The Coleman Report has surveyed SBA lending professionals to track compensation trends across the industry. The 2026 SBA 7(a) Loan Department Compensation Survey provides the most comprehensive view of how SBA departments compensate the specialists who originate, underwrite,…

March 13, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Fraud Friday: $14 Million PPP Loan Fraudster with Two Wives Gets 10 Years in Prison  Sharhabeel Shreiteh was sentenced on March 11th to 10 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $14 million PPP loan fraud scheme. It is one of the longest prison sentences imposed in a…

March 11, 2026 Bob ColemanFounder & Publisher Movers & Shakers: Philip Rhodes, Kaye Thompson, & Christopher Hendricks Philip Rhodes Named VP, SBA National Franchise Lending at Provide, Powered by Fifth Third Philip Rhodes has joined Provide, powered by Fifth Third, in SBA franchise lending. Rhodes brings more than a decade of experience in SBA and…