Certified Development Company · SBA 504
Business Finance Capital
Los Angeles, CA · 2,209 504 loans since 2010, 976 in the last five years · active in 5 states.
What stands out about Business Finance Capital
vs every other CDCA single-state CDC — 100% of its 504 loans are in California. It does bigger projects than most — a median $2.0M against about $1.1M for the typical CDC. Its loans have held up well — a 0.9% default rate, comfortably under the 5.0% all-504 average. It is one of the busiest CDCs in the country (2,807 loans since 2010).
What they finance
last 5 yearsProject sizes
bank first + CDC secondA 504 project is roughly half bank first mortgage, 45% CDC second and the rest your own money. This is the financed portion, not the whole project.
Banks they work with
first mortgage partners| Bank | Deals together |
|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | 179 |
| Harvest Commercial Capital, LLC | 86 |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 73 |
| Bank of America, National Association | 64 |
| City National Bank | 42 |
| Poppy Bank | 37 |
A 504 needs two lenders. The CDC arranges the SBA portion, a bank writes the first mortgage. If a CDC has done dozens of deals with a particular bank, that pairing works — which is worth knowing before you go hunting for a first mortgage on your own.
Their loans, year by year
cumulative % of CDC dollars charged off| Approved | Yr 1 | Yr 2 | Yr 3 | Yr 4 | Yr 5 | Yr 6 | Yr 7 | Yr 8 | Yr 9 | Yr 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2013 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 2014 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2015 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| 2016 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · |
| 2017 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · |
| 2018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | · | · | · |
| 2019 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | · | · | · | · |
| 2020 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2021 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2022 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2023 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2024 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2025 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2026 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
504 loans default a little less often than 7(a) overall — 5.0% of loans against 5.7%. But that edge is mostly a mix effect: 7(a) writes far more of the small loans that fail most, and counted at the same loan size 504 is not clearly safer. Numbers this small move sharply on a handful of loans, so read a single cell with care.
Is 504 right for you?
504 is for owner-occupied real estate and heavy equipment, and it fixes most of your rate for 25 years. The trade is two lenders, two closings and more paperwork than a 7(a).
Other CDCs to consider
Most CDCs lend across several states, so the nearest one is rarely your only option — and rates and service vary.