Original analysis

A weekly opinion column grounded in SBADecoded’s data and beholden to no lender. First up: why SBA lender rankings mislead borrowers — a 29-fold gap in how the busiest lenders’ loans actually perform.

How every major SBA lender's loans actually perform, ranked from the federal record — Lendistry 13.6% down to a dozen at 0%. The number the “best lenders” lists never show. Downloadable.

Every headline SBA statistic in one place — default rates, loan sizes, interest rates, approval speed — each with its source and downloadable data.

228 brands ranked from the federal loan record — Experimac (62.5%) down to a dozen brands at 0%. Median brand: 3.0%. Downloadable data.

The often-quoted 5% 504 default rate is almost all 2005–2009 bubble loans that charged off at up to 19%. Sorted by vintage, recent 504 lending looks far safer.

Ask it and Gene will answer from the federal loan data — the most useful ones get published here so the next person can find them too.

Half of all 7(a) loans are under $150k, but the ten busiest small-loan lenders write 61% of them — and famous names like Live Oak barely do small. A ranking, with downloadable data.

Counted loan by loan the gap nearly vanishes — 504 defaults at 5.0% against 7(a)’s 5.7%. The “half the rate” headline is dollar-weighted, and within the $350k–$2M range 504 actually defaults more. Why loan size, not the program, drives the story.

5.7% of seasoned 7(a) loans charged off within seven years — and risk falls sharply with size, from 7.1% under $150k to 1.9% above $2M.

Median 10.0% across 235,484 recent funded loans; the middle half paid 8.25–11.25%, typically prime + 2.5%.

Median $178,850 — the average of $508k is dragged up by a few huge deals. Half of all loans fall between $55k and $500k.

It is mostly the lender: 93% of loans are approved under delegated authority (56% PLP, 37% Express), skipping SBA re-underwriting.