SBA’s 7(a) Loan Program is Shutting Down (For Now)

As mentioned on the Coleman Report, the SBA’s 7(a) loan program has experienced overwhelming demand this year, so much so that the SBA is being forced to shut the program down until October 1st when the fiscal year cap on loan approvals resets. At present, their loans are effectively sold out.

One has to wonder how disruptions like this will affect tech-based platforms such as SmartBizLoans.com whose business model depends on the SBA’s 7(a) loan program. Evan Singer, SmartBiz’s General Manager was a panelist at the AltLend Conference in NYC a few days ago.

The SBA has approved over 45,000 loans this year so far totaling more than $16.5 billion, a 25% increase year-over-year. $1.69 billion of that (as of July 11th) was for loans under $150,000.

Last year, the SBA funded $1.86 billion worth of 7(a) loans under $150,000 to small businesses, narrowly making it the top small business funder in the industry. OnDeck was a close second.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future AltFinanceDaily events here.