Lender · SBA 7(a) record
Meridian Bank
PA · lends in 26 states · 729 SBA loans since 2010, 430 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. Meridian Bank made 76% 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 Meridian Bank
vs every other SBA lenderMeridian Bank writes big loans. Its median loan is $632k — against about $347k for the typical SBA lender. This is a lender for sizeable deals, not small working-capital requests.
Meridian Bank is real-estate-heavy. 37% 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 430 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.
Lends conservatively
0.82% charged off against 2.11% across all SBA lending. Clean books usually mean tight credit standards. Good rates if you fit their box, and a quick decline if you don't.
What rate people got
median markup over primeThe median borrower here paid prime + 2.09%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | · | · | · | · |
| 2020 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2021 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 2022 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 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 Meridian Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 71 commercial real-estate loans, 41 franchise loans, 40 business acquisitions, 40 startups. 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 Meridian Bank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $61,250, and the typical (median) Meridian Bank loan is $632,500. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do Meridian Bank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent Meridian Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 2.09%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does Meridian Bank lend in?
Most of Meridian Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, among 20 states in total. Compare lenders by state.