SBA Hot Topic Tuesday: Coleman Report Top 100 SBA 7(a) Lenders by Number of Loans FY25

November 18, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher, Coleman Report

SBA Hot Topic Tuesday: Coleman Report Top 100 SBA 7(a) Lenders by Number of Loans FY25

The elephant in the room for this year’s rankings is BayFirst Bank’s decision to exit the SBA 7(a) program. Their departure is reverberating through the industry, especially among lenders who specialize in smaller-dollar loans.

Still, despite BayFirst’s exit and SBA’s mid-year tightening of small-loan guidance, the overall numbers show that committed lenders stayed the course. The data underscores that lenders comfortable with SBA’s revised small-loan rules continued to produce volume.

Only 12 lenders had an average loan size below $200,000 — and three of those made the Top 10.

Northeast Bank: A Surging New #1

Northeast Bank jumped from #8 to #1, posting a 200% increase in loan numbers. That kind of growth wouldn’t have occurred if the institution had any hesitation about complying with SBA’s new small-loan guidance.

Huntington Slips, But Stays a Dominant Force

The Huntington National Bank continues a long tradition of a SBA 7(a) small loan lender, but a 10% decline in the number of loans pushed it down to #2 in the rankings.

Movers in the Top 10

  • U.S. Bank grew loan count by 10%.
  • TD Bank declined 14%.
  • ReadyCap dropped 12%.

Breaking into the Top 10 this year is Manufacturers and Traders Trust, demonstrating a strong commitment to small business lending with an average loan size of just $109,000.

Live Oak: Still a Giant by Dollars

Measured by dollars, Live Oak Bank remains one of the largest SBA lenders, with nearly $3 billion in total 2025 volume. But by raw loan count, Live Oak ranks #8.

Wall Street Pullback

The large national banks stepped back from high-volume 7(a) activity:

  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Wells Fargo
  • Bank of America

All notched 20% declines in the number of loans processed.

One of the more dramatic contractions came from KeyBank, which posted a 60% drop in loan volume, dropping out of the Top Ten to 18th with 756 loans.

New Arrivals to the Top 100

Two non-bank lenders joined the list for the first time this year:

  • # 38- Port 51 Lending with 226 loans
  • #61 – AmPac CDC in Ontario, California with 146 loans

Coleman Report Top 100 SBA 7(a) Lenders by Number of Loans FY25

SBA Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2025