Lender · SBA 7(a) record
Five Star Bank
CA · lends in 43 states · 3,384 SBA loans since 2010, 628 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. Five Star Bank made 63% 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 Five Star Bank
vs every other SBA lenderIt leans into one industry. 10% of Five Star Bank's loans go to fitness and recreational sports centers — roughly 3× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.
Five Star Bank is franchise-heavy. 56% of its loans are franchise loans, well above the norm — a good sign if that is your deal.
Its practical minimum of $10k is lower than most lenders will go; it looks at loans others wave off as too small.
This read is built from 628 funded 7(a) loans over the last five fiscal years.
Will they talk to you?
loan sizes fundedThe spread of loan sizes tells you where this lender is comfortable. Ask for something far outside it and expect friction.
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.
Takes on more risk than most banks
4.46% of their loan dollars have charged off, against 2.11% across all SBA lending. That is not a warning — if you have been turned down elsewhere, a lender with more appetite is exactly who you want. Expect to pay for it in rate.
What rate people got
median markup over primeThe median borrower here paid prime + 2.34%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 |
| 2011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6.2 | 7.6 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 9.3 |
| 2012 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| 2013 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| 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 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| 2016 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | · |
| 2017 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 7.3 | 8.2 | 9.5 | 10.2 | 11.2 | · | · |
| 2018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.4 | · | · | · |
| 2019 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 8.7 | · | · | · | · |
| 2020 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 3.6 | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2021 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2022 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.2 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2023 | 0.0 | 0.3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 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 Five Star Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 104 franchise loans, 54 startups, 23 business acquisitions, 5 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 Five Star Bank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $10,000, and the typical (median) Five Star Bank loan is $200,000. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do Five Star Bank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent Five Star Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 2.34%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does Five Star Bank lend in?
Most of Five Star Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in New York, California, Texas, among 20 states in total. Compare lenders by state.