Who is buying businesses with SBA loans, from which banks, and how often it goes wrong
The SBA publishes every 7(a) loan it guarantees. We isolate the 48,902 loans used to buy an existing business since FY2018, worth $54B, and break them down by franchise brand, industry, state, and lender. If you are under LOI, talking to a bank, or deciding what kind of business to buy, this is the base rate.
Jump to: loan statistics default rates franchise brands industries states lenders failure rates
Acquisition loans by fiscal year
FY2026 saw 6,667 SBA-financed business acquisitions totaling $8.3B, with a median loan of $770,000. That is 3% fewer loans than FY2025 (6,859), a decrease. SBA fiscal years end September 30.
| Fiscal year | Loans | Total approved | Median loan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 3,938 | $3.6B | $479,800 | |
| FY2019 | 5,634 | $5.1B | $508,000 | |
| FY2020 | 4,945 | $5.1B | $608,000 | |
| FY2021 | 6,036 | $6.9B | $700,000 | |
| FY2022 | 4,610 | $5.4B | $709,100 | |
| FY2023 | 4,653 | $5.1B | $642,500 | |
| FY2024 | 5,560 | $6.2B | $650,750 | |
| FY2025 | 6,859 | $8.1B | $702,500 | |
| FY2026 | 6,667 | $8.3B | $770,000 |
Acquisition loans have failed less often than other 7(a) loans so far
Among loans old enough to judge (approved FY2018 to FY2021), 3.5% of acquisition loans have been charged off. Non-acquisition 7(a) loans (every other stated purpose) approved FY2018 to FY2021 charged off at 6.2%. By dollars the acquisition figure is 1.7%. The dollar rate is lower because charged-off balances were smaller on average than the typical approved loan. The spread between industries is wide: compare industry pages before you treat the average as your odds.
Most-acquired franchise brands
8,849 of the 48,902 acquisition loans (18%) financed a franchised business. These are the brands that change hands most often with SBA money. Each page shows loan sizes, lenders, states, and the brand's charge-off rate against the all-acquisition average.
| # | Franchise brand | Loans | Share | Dollars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The UPS Store | 348 | 3.9% | $161M | |
| 2 | Subway | 217 | 2.5% | $78M | |
| 3 | Quality Inn | 188 | 2.1% | $578M | |
| 4 | Super 8 | 140 | 1.6% | $294M | |
| 5 | Days Inn | 128 | 1.4% | $320M | |
| 6 | Motel 6 | 116 | 1.3% | $322M | |
| 7 | Home Instead | 114 | 1.3% | $119M | |
| 8 | Ace Hardware | 111 | 1.3% | $144M | |
| 9 | Best Western | 109 | 1.2% | $377M | |
| 10 | Red Roof Inn | 103 | 1.2% | $293M | |
| 11 | Anytime Fitness | 102 | 1.2% | $64.9M | |
| 12 | Dairy Queen | 94 | 1.1% | $63.3M | |
| 13 | Servpro | 90 | 1.0% | $92.9M | |
| 14 | Domino's Pizza | 88 | 1.0% | $95.1M | |
| 15 | Comfort Inn | 80 | 0.9% | $313M |
Industries bought most often with SBA loans
By loan count, the five most financed industries are Full-Service Restaurants, Hotels and Motels, Limited-Service Restaurants, Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers, and Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores. Industry pages add the states and lenders most active in each, the franchise brands within it, and failure rates.
| # | Industry (NAICS) | Loans | Share | Dollars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full-Service Restaurants | 2,797 | 5.7% | $1.9B | |
| 2 | Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels | 2,310 | 4.7% | $6.5B | |
| 3 | Limited-Service Restaurants | 2,222 | 4.5% | $1.4B | |
| 4 | Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers | 1,736 | 3.5% | $1.7B | |
| 5 | Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores | 1,347 | 2.8% | $2.4B | |
| 6 | General Automotive Repair | 1,089 | 2.2% | $875M | |
| 7 | Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 921 | 1.9% | $1.0B | |
| 8 | All Other Specialty Trade Contractors | 884 | 1.8% | $1.1B | |
| 9 | Child Care Services | 850 | 1.7% | $1.1B | |
| 10 | Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | 832 | 1.7% | $845M | |
| 11 | Landscaping Services | 790 | 1.6% | $680M | |
| 12 | Home Health Care Services | 649 | 1.3% | $681M | |
| 13 | Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers | 646 | 1.3% | $360M | |
| 14 | Offices of Certified Public Accountants | 620 | 1.3% | $457M | |
| 15 | Offices of Chiropractors | 569 | 1.2% | $224M |
By state
- California 5,184
- Texas 4,080
- Florida 3,624
- Washington 2,006
- Colorado 1,870
- Ohio 1,821
- Illinois 1,779
- Minnesota 1,778
- Georgia 1,774
- Pennsylvania 1,765
- Michigan 1,680
- North Carolina 1,575
- New York 1,530
- Wisconsin 1,452
- Indiana 1,158
- New Jersey 1,130
- Missouri 1,098
- Arizona 1,095
- Massachusetts 963
- Virginia 849
- Utah 708
- South Carolina 683
- Maryland 679
- Oregon 656
- Tennessee 624
- Kansas 531
- Oklahoma 510
- Alabama 476
- Iowa 454
- Kentucky 445
- Idaho 436
- Louisiana 430
- Connecticut 416
- Nevada 388
- Mississippi 354
- New Hampshire 342
- Nebraska 339
- Arkansas 334
- Montana 283
- Maine 214
- New Mexico 206
- South Dakota 165
- Rhode Island 144
- Delaware 130
- North Dakota 130
- West Virginia 119
- Wyoming 102
- Vermont 100
- District of Columbia 91
- Alaska 76
- Hawaii 58
- Puerto Rico 54
- U.S. Virgin Islands 12
- Guam 2
Most active acquisition lenders
Live Oak Banking Company and The Huntington National Bank together account for 16% of all SBA-financed acquisitions. A lender's page shows its state footprint, the industries it actually funds, median loan size, and how its acquisition book has performed.
| # | Lender | Loans | Share | Dollars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking Company | 4,756 | 9.7% | $6.8B | |
| 2 | The Huntington National Bank | 3,207 | 6.6% | $2.5B | |
| 3 | Byline Bank | 930 | 1.9% | $1.3B | |
| 4 | Hanmi Bank | 870 | 1.8% | $732M | |
| 5 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 810 | 1.7% | $1.2B | |
| 6 | First Internet Bank of Indiana | 678 | 1.4% | $938M | |
| 7 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 667 | 1.4% | $739M | |
| 8 | GBank | 623 | 1.3% | $1.7B | |
| 9 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 604 | 1.2% | $361M | |
| 10 | Beacon Bank and Trust | 570 | 1.2% | $864M | |
| 11 | Old National Bank | 566 | 1.2% | $649M | |
| 12 | Open Bank | 505 | 1.0% | $871M | |
| 13 | Stearns Bank National Association | 481 | 1.0% | $225M | |
| 14 | Bank of Hope | 479 | 1.0% | $394M | |
| 15 | First Financial Bank | 453 | 0.9% | $567M |
Common questions
What counts as an "acquisition loan" on this site?
An SBA 7(a) loan where the lender recorded the business age as Change of Ownership on the application, meaning the proceeds were used to buy an existing business rather than start or expand one. The SBA began recording this category in FY2018. It covers 11% of all 7(a) loans approved since FY2020.
How big is a typical SBA business acquisition loan?
The median change-of-ownership 7(a) loan approved FY2018 to FY2026 was $645,250. Half of all acquisition loans fall between $283,000 and $1,465,000. The 7(a) program cap is $5 million, and the largest deals cluster near it.
How often do SBA acquisition loans go bad?
Across acquisition loans approved FY2018 to FY2021, 3.5% have been charged off by count (1.7% by dollars). Non-acquisition 7(a) loans (every other stated purpose) approved FY2018 to FY2021 charged off at 6.2%. Rates vary a great deal by industry and brand; see the individual pages.
Which banks make the most SBA acquisition loans?
Live Oak Banking Company, The Huntington National Bank, Byline Bank, Hanmi Bank, Celtic Bank Corporation lead by loan count. Volume is not the same as fit: some lenders specialize in particular industries or deal sizes. Each lender page shows where and what they finance.
Where does this data come from?
The U.S. Small Business Administration publishes every 7(a) loan it approves under the Freedom of Information Act, updated quarterly at data.sba.gov. We download the files, keep only change-of-ownership loans, and compute the aggregates you see here. Current file: as of September 30, 2026. Full detail on the methodology page.
Using this site
Start with the buyer's guide to SBA acquisition data if you are new to 7(a) financing. It explains how to read loan sizes, what a charge-off rate does and does not tell you, and which questions to take to a lender. Annual totals are on the loan statistics page and charge-off rates by year, industry, and state on the default rate page. Definitions are in the glossary; every computation is documented on the methodology page.