Lender · SBA 7(a) record
Paragon Bank
TN · lends in 19 states · 326 SBA loans since 2010, 68 in the last five years.
How fast they approve. Paragon Bank made 82% 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 Paragon Bank
vs every other SBA lenderIt leans into one industry. 12% of Paragon Bank's loans go to broilers and other meat type chicken production — roughly 30× the share you would expect, so it clearly knows that business.
Paragon Bank writes big loans. Its median loan is $857k — against about $347k for the typical SBA lender. This is a lender for sizeable deals, not small working-capital requests.
Paragon Bank is franchise-heavy. 34% of its loans are franchise loans, well above the norm — a good sign if that is your deal.
This read is built from 68 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
1.57% 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 + 1.83%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 3.3 |
| 2016 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 11.5 | 11.5 | · |
| 2017 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | · | · |
| 2018 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · |
| 2019 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · |
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 Paragon Bank make SBA startup and acquisition loans?
Yes — its recent SBA 7(a) record includes 30 franchise loans, 28 startups, 15 business acquisitions, 15 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 Paragon Bank will make?
Its practical minimum — the 5th percentile of what it has actually funded — is about $306,890, and the typical (median) Paragon Bank loan is $857,450. If your loan is well below its practical minimum, it is unlikely to be interested however strong your file.
What interest rate do Paragon Bank SBA borrowers get?
On variable-rate loans, recent Paragon Bank borrowers paid a median of prime + 1.83%. The markup over prime is the negotiable part of any SBA quote. Check a rate you have been quoted.
What states does Paragon Bank lend in?
Most of Paragon Bank's recent SBA lending is concentrated in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, among 19 states in total. Compare lenders by state.