Lender · SBA 7(a) record
First Business Bank
WI · lends in 33 states · 667 SBA loans since 2010, 166 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. First Business Bank made 93% of its recent SBA 7(a) loans under Preferred Lender (PLP) authority — it can approve them in-house without sending your file to the SBA to re-underwrite, which is the biggest single driver of how fast a loan closes. Why approval speed comes down to the lender.
What stands out about First Business Bank
vs every other SBA lenderIt leans into one industry. 11% of First Business Bank's loans go to fitness and recreational sports centers — roughly 3× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.
First Business Bank writes big loans. Its median loan is $765k — against about $347k for the typical SBA lender. This is a lender for sizeable deals, not small working-capital requests.
First Business Bank is acquisition-heavy. 28% of its loans are business acquisitions, well above the norm — a good sign if that is your deal.
This read is built from 166 funded 7(a) loans over the last five fiscal years.
Will they talk to you?
loan sizes fundedEffectively nothing under $150,000 in five years. If you need a smaller loan this lender is a dead end, and knowing that now saves you three weeks.
Do they fund businesses like yours?
last 5 yearsA lender who already knows your industry asks better questions and closes faster. One who doesn't will treat your file as an education.
Middle of the road on risk
1.48% charged off, close to the 2.11% across all SBA lending. Neither unusually tight nor unusually loose.
What rate people got
median markup over primeThe median borrower here paid prime + 2.41%. Compare that against what you have been quoted — the markup is the negotiable part, and most borrowers never try.
Their loans, year by year
cumulative % of 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 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| 2013 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 2014 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| 2015 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| 2016 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | · |
| 2017 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | · | · |
| 2019 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · |
| 2020 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2021 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.2 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2022 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2023 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2024 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2025 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Each row is one year's lending. Read down a column to compare years at the same age — that is the only fair comparison, because losses take three to five years to appear and a fast-growing lender always looks clean on a raw average.
What this page cannot tell you
Federal records show what was approved, not how long it took, how the bank communicated, or whether your loan officer returned calls. Ask any lender directly: are you a preferred lender, how many deals like mine did you close last year, and who underwrites it.
Check your eligibility first → Decode what they say to you →
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Common questions
Does First Business Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 49 business acquisitions, 46 franchise loans, 44 startups, 39 commercial real-estate loans. If your deal is one of these, it has funded that kind of loan many times before. See how it ranks for your exact deal.
What is the smallest SBA loan First Business Bank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $280,000, and the typical (median) First Business Bank loan is $765,000. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do First Business Bank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent First Business Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 2.41%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does First Business Bank lend in?
Most of First Business Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in California, Wisconsin, Texas, among 20 states in total. Compare lenders by state.