Lender · SBA 7(a) record
Merchants & Marine Bank
MS · lends in 14 states · 88 SBA loans since 2010, 60 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. Merchants & Marine Bank made 47% of its recent 7(a) loans under full Preferred Lender (PLP) authority and another 30% through SBA Express — both let it approve without waiting on the SBA. Larger, more complex deals lean on the PLP share. Why approval speed comes down to the lender.
What stands out about Merchants & Marine Bank
vs every other SBA lenderIt leans into one industry. 9% of Merchants & Marine Bank's loans go to beer, wine, and liquor stores — roughly 3× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.
It is a low-volume SBA lender, so its numbers move more with each individual loan.
This read is built from 60 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.
Middle of the road on risk
2.00% 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 + 2.64%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Merchants & Marine Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 22 startups, 13 business acquisitions, 11 franchise loans, 8 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 Merchants & Marine Bank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $25,000, and the typical (median) Merchants & Marine Bank loan is $370,450. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do Merchants & Marine Bank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent Merchants & Marine Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 2.64%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does Merchants & Marine Bank lend in?
Most of Merchants & Marine Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in Mississippi, Texas, Florida, among 14 states in total. Compare lenders by state.