Lender · SBA 7(a) record
FWBank
IL · lends in 32 states · 162 SBA loans since 2010, 162 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. FWBank made 85% 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 FWBank
vs every other SBA lenderIt leans into one industry. 17% of FWBank's loans go to fitness and recreational sports centers — roughly 5× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.
FWBank writes big loans. Its median loan is $735k — against about $347k for the typical SBA lender. This is a lender for sizeable deals, not small working-capital requests.
FWBank is franchise-heavy. 39% of its loans are franchise loans, well above the norm — a good sign if that is your deal.
This read is built from 162 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.
Not enough seasoned history to judge
Too few of this lender's loans are old enough to say anything useful.
What rate people got
median markup over primeThe median borrower here paid prime + 1.99%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 →
Lenders worth comparing against this one
Picked for writing loans of a similar size in similar places.
Common questions
Does FWBank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 72 startups, 71 franchise loans, 30 commercial real-estate loans, 8 business acquisitions. 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 FWBank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $309,430, and the typical (median) FWBank loan is $734,650. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do FWBank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent FWBank borrowers paid a median of prime + 1.99%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does FWBank lend in?
Most of FWBank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in Illinois, Texas, California, among 20 states in total. Compare lenders by state.