SBADecoded
Home / Lenders / Hiawatha National Bank

Lender · SBA 7(a) record

Hiawatha National Bank

WI · lends in 8 states · 524 SBA loans since 2010, 259 in the last five years.

Practical minimum
$25k
5th percentile, last 5 years
Typical loan
$200k
median, last 5 years
Median rate
P+0.88
variable-rate loans only
Typical term
10 yr
Recent volume
$110.4M
last 5 fiscal years

How fast they approve. Hiawatha National Bank made 56% 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 Hiawatha National Bank

vs every other SBA lender

It leans into one industry. 15% of Hiawatha National Bank's loans go to broilers and other meat type chicken production — roughly 38× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.

Borrowers here paid a median of prime + 0.88% — cheaper than the prime + 1.99% typical across lenders.

Hiawatha National Bank is real-estate-heavy. 42% of its loans are commercial real-estate loans, well above the norm — a good sign if that is your deal.

This read is built from 259 funded 7(a) loans over the last five fiscal years; outside its core states the sample thins out, so weigh the rest accordingly.

Will they talk to you?

loan sizes funded
Under $150k
42%
$150k – $350k
24%
$350k – $750k
17%
$750k – $2M
14%
Over $2M
2%

The 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 years
Dairy Cattle and Milk Production
10%
Landscaping Services
5%
Full-Service Restaurants
5%
Limited-Service Restaurants
4%
General Freight Trucking, Local
4%
Everything else
73%

A 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

2.86% charged off, close to the 2.11% across all SBA lending. Neither unusually tight nor unusually loose.

What rate people got

median markup over prime

The median borrower here paid prime + 0.88%. Compare that against what you have been quoted — the markup is the negotiable part, and most borrowers never try.

Work out what that costs you →

Their loans, year by year

cumulative % of dollars charged off
ApprovedYr 1Yr 2Yr 3Yr 4Yr 5Yr 6Yr 7Yr 8Yr 9Yr 10
20150.00.07.57.57.57.57.57.57.57.5
20160.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0·
20180.00.00.00.00.00.50.5···
20200.00.00.00.012.6·····
20210.00.00.00.0······
20220.00.00.0·······
20230.00.0········
20240.0·········
0%
12%+▨ too recent to know

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.

Source SBA 7(a) FOIAReleased 2026-06-30 Loans judged 195 Measured at 5 years

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 Hiawatha National Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?

Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 45 commercial real-estate loans, 36 startups, 16 business acquisitions, 10 franchise 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 Hiawatha National Bank will make?

Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $25,000, and the typical (median) Hiawatha National 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 Hiawatha National Bank SBA borrowers get?

On variable-rate loans, recent Hiawatha National Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 0.88%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.

What states does Hiawatha National Bank lend in?

Most of Hiawatha National Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in Wisconsin, Minnesota, among 8 states in total. Compare lenders by state.