Financing / Data study
Fixed-rate SBA loans: which lenders make them and what they charge
Most SBA loans float with the prime rate. A fixed rate exists and starts lower than most borrowers expect, but only a few dozen lenders make them in any number.
86% of SBA 7(a) loans have a variable rate, written as the prime rate plus a spread. When prime moves, their payments move with it. Prime went from 6.75% to 7% on September 17, 2026, its first rise since July 27, 2023.
The rest have a fixed rate: 6,730 of the 49,520 loans approved in the twelve months to June 30, 2026. This study is about those loans: how rare they are, what they cost, which lenders make them and what SBA's rules say about them. They are the same loans as in our study of 7(a) rates.
One definition first. Under SBA's rules a loan has a fixed rate only if the rate holds for the whole term. A loan whose rate is set for the first five years and floats afterwards is a variable-rate loan, and is recorded as one. So are the other arrangements described further down.
How rare a fixed rate is
25% of 7(a) loans had a fixed rate in fiscal 2014. In fiscal 2025, 14%
Share of 7(a) loans with a fixed interest rate, by fiscal year of approval (October to September), cancelled loans left out
Source: The Mercantile Record analysis of SBA 7(a) loan records as of June 30, 2026. Method.
Show the numbers as a table
| Approved in | Loans | With a fixed rate | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 39,913 | 5,936 | 14.9% |
| FY2011 | 45,628 | 8,945 | 19.6% |
| FY2012 | 38,889 | 8,409 | 21.6% |
| FY2013 | 40,416 | 9,114 | 22.6% |
| FY2014 | 45,962 | 11,372 | 24.7% |
| FY2015 | 55,421 | 12,952 | 23.4% |
| FY2016 | 56,789 | 12,584 | 22.2% |
| FY2017 | 56,080 | 12,516 | 22.3% |
| FY2018 | 54,223 | 12,061 | 22.2% |
| FY2019 | 45,686 | 9,534 | 20.9% |
| FY2020 | 36,490 | 8,836 | 24.2% |
| FY2021 | 45,360 | 8,830 | 19.5% |
| FY2022 | 42,282 | 6,846 | 16.2% |
| FY2023 | 51,747 | 7,733 | 14.9% |
| FY2024 | 62,618 | 8,599 | 13.7% |
| FY2025 | 64,096 | 8,683 | 13.6% |
In fiscal 2014, 24.7% of 7(a) loans had a fixed rate, about one in four. The share was still 24.2% in fiscal 2020. It has fallen almost by half since, to 13.6% in fiscal 2025.
Two things hide inside that average. Lines of credit are almost never fixed: 112 of 12,789 in the period. Among term loans the share is 18%. And among term loans, the length of the loan matters more than anything else.
76% of term loans of five years or less had a fixed rate. Of loans of seven to ten years, 9%
Share of term loans with a fixed rate, by repayment term, approved July 2025 to June 2026
Source: The Mercantile Record analysis of SBA 7(a) loan records as of June 30, 2026. Method.
Show the numbers as a table
| Repayment term | Term loans | With a fixed rate | Median fixed rate | Median variable rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years or less | 3,087 | 76.2% | 8.99% | 10% |
| Over 5, up to 7 years | 1,200 | 53.2% | 8.38% | 9.5% |
| Over 7, up to 10 years | 23,057 | 9.2% | 7.86% | 9.75% |
| Over 10, under 25 years | 3,520 | 16.4% | 7.75% | 9.25% |
| 25 years or more | 5,867 | 16.0% | 6.99% | 8.5% |
76% of term loans of five years or less were fixed. For loans of more than seven and up to ten years, by far the largest group, it was 9%. The longest loans sit in between: 16% of those of 25 years or more were fixed, 940 loans in all.
How the loan was approved matters too. 57% of SBA Express term loans were fixed, against 11% of the term loans that preferred lenders approved on their own authority. Express loans are small and short, which is where fixed rates are found.
What a fixed rate costs
At every loan size, the typical fixed rate started below the typical variable one
Initial interest rate on term loans approved July 2025 to June 2026, by loan size. Lines of credit are left out.
fixed rate, medianmiddle half of fixed-rate loansvariable rate, median
Source: The Mercantile Record analysis of SBA 7(a) loan records as of June 30, 2026. Method.
Show the numbers as a table
| Loan size | Term loans with a fixed rate | Fixed-rate loans | Median fixed rate | 25th percentile | 75th percentile | Variable-rate loans | Median variable rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | 61.0% | 749 | 9.49% | 8.49% | 10.74% | 479 | 11.5% |
| $25,001–$50,000 | 38.6% | 1,081 | 8.99% | 8% | 9.99% | 1,723 | 11.75% |
| $50,001–$150,000 | 15.2% | 1,222 | 8.74% | 7.74% | 10.24% | 6,803 | 9.75% |
| $150,001–$350,000 | 12.1% | 1,079 | 7.95% | 7.1% | 8.79% | 7,853 | 9.75% |
| $350,001–$1 million | 16.4% | 1,308 | 7.5% | 6.95% | 8.11% | 6,670 | 9.25% |
| $1–$2 million | 17.0% | 698 | 7.39% | 6.75% | 7.99% | 3,404 | 9% |
| $2–$5 million | 13.1% | 481 | 7.25% | 6.7% | 7.75% | 3,181 | 8.5% |
The surprise is the price. Borrowers expect a fixed rate to cost more, since the lender takes the risk that rates rise. In these records it started lower. On term loans, the median fixed rate was below the median variable rate at every loan size, by between 1.0 and 2.8 points. It was lower at every length of term as well. About one fixed-rate loan in five (21%) was priced at or below the prime rate of the month it was approved.
That does not make a fixed rate a bargain for whoever asks. Three things are tangled together.
- The lenders differ. Banks made 91% of the fixed-rate term loans, and ten banks made 53% of all fixed-rate loans. The few that non-bank lenders made carried a median rate of 9.99%, against 7.99% at banks.
- The borrowers may differ. A lender can keep its fixed rate for the applicants it likes best. The file has no credit scores, so we cannot check.
- The moment matters. During these twelve months prime fell from 7.5% to 6.75%. It has since gone back up.
One comparison removes the first of those. Where a single lender made at least 10 term loans of each kind in the same size group, we set its fixed loans against its own variable ones. There are 26 such comparisons, at 10 lenders. The fixed loans were cheaper in 17 of them, the same in 1 and more expensive in 8. So a fixed rate was cheaper more often than not at the same lender, but not everywhere.
Who makes them
Five lenders made 41% of all fixed-rate 7(a) loans
Fixed-rate 7(a) loans approved July 2025 to June 2026, the 15 lenders with the most. 625 of 1,201 lenders made at least one.
Source: The Mercantile Record analysis of SBA 7(a) loan records as of June 30, 2026. The lender is the one that holds the loan in SBA's file today. Method.
625 of the 1,201 lenders that made a 7(a) loan in the period made at least one at a fixed rate, about half. For most of them it was a rarity: 533 made fewer than ten. The 92 lenders that made ten or more account for 81% of all fixed-rate loans. One of them, U.S. Bank, made 22% by itself, most of them small five-year loans: its median fixed-rate loan was $40,000.
Here is every lender with at least 10 fixed-rate loans in the period. Click a column heading to sort. A median rate is shown only where a lender made at least 25.
| U.S. Bank | Bank | 1,494 | 54% | 8.49% | $40K | 5 | 221 | 41 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank | Bank | 394 | 56% | 7.38% | $674K | 11 | 308 | 42 |
| Huntington National Bank | Bank | 309 | 8% | 7.5% | $1.1M | 10 | 231 | 35 |
| Bank of America | Bank | 307 | 76% | 6.59% | $465K | 10 | 196 | 34 |
| M&T Bank | Bank | 250 | 10% | 10.49% | $50K | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| Eastern Bank | Bank | 239 | 71% | 9.24% | $99K | 5 | 13 | 4 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank | Bank | 212 | 22% | 10.07% | $170K | 7 | 61 | 27 |
| TD Bank | Bank | 207 | 11% | 8.59% | $226K | 10 | 94 | 14 |
| PNC Bank | Bank | 102 | 46% | 7.57% | $356K | 10 | 51 | 20 |
| Old National Bank | Bank | 77 | 45% | 7.74% | $1.2M | 10 | 66 | 11 |
| City National Bank | Bank | 71 | 80% | 6.95% | $1M | 25 | 67 | 10 |
| First Financial Bank | Bank | 60 | 41% | 7.8% | $809K | 15 | 49 | 14 |
| Fifth Third Bank | Bank | 58 | 15% | 9.02% | $506K | 10 | 33 | 16 |
| Banc of California | Bank | 55 | 92% | 7.25% | $1.4M | 25 | 53 | 17 |
| First Community Bank | Bank | 55 | 53% | 6.38% | $280K | 9.9 | 25 | 6 |
| LiftFund, Inc. | Non-bank | 52 | 100% | 12.75% | $112K | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Plumas Bank | Bank | 52 | 100% | 8% | $619K | 10 | 45 | 5 |
| Frost Bank | Bank | 43 | 73% | 8.75% | $450K | 10 | 26 | 1 |
| Oriental Bank | Bank | 43 | 67% | 8% | $225K | 15 | 13 | 1 |
| PlainsCapital Bank | Bank | 43 | 61% | 10% | $149K | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Truist Bank | Bank | 42 | 67% | 8.25% | $1.1M | 10 | 34 | 12 |
| Banner Bank | Bank | 39 | 24% | 7.49% | $100K | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Emprise Bank | Bank | 39 | 76% | 7.38% | $352K | 10 | 20 | 3 |
| Regions Bank | Bank | 39 | 29% | 7.5% | $841K | 10 | 31 | 9 |
| Enterprise Bank & Trust | Bank | 38 | 27% | 7% | $1.3M | 25 | 35 | 12 |
| Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Bank | 37 | 10% | 9% | $200K | 10 | 11 | 2 |
| Capital One | Bank | 35 | 67% | 6.06% | $995K | 10 | 32 | 10 |
| MidFirst Bank | Bank | 35 | 95% | 7% | $935K | 25 | 32 | 6 |
| Republic Bank & Trust Company | Bank | 35 | 66% | 7.75% | $328K | 10 | 15 | 5 |
| ESL FCU | Credit union | 31 | 41% | 7.89% | $53K | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Rockland Trust Company | Bank | 31 | 33% | 6.75% | $246K | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| FirstBank Puerto Rico | Bank | 29 | 41% | 8.5% | $50K | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Sound Credit Union | Credit union | 29 | 51% | 10.75% | $35K | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| BankNewport | Bank | 24 | 39% | – | $100K | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Colorado Enterprise Fund | Non-bank | 24 | 100% | – | $150K | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Associated Bank | Bank | 23 | 35% | – | $744K | 10 | 14 | 8 |
| Citizens Bank (RI) | Bank | 23 | 45% | – | $567K | 10 | 17 | 8 |
| Bangor Savings Bank | Bank | 22 | 71% | – | $231K | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Community Capital New York, Inc. | Non-bank | 22 | 92% | – | $100K | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Central Pacific Bank | Bank | 21 | 51% | – | $25K | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company | Bank | 21 | 38% | – | $454K | 10 | 13 | 3 |
| BankUnited | Bank | 20 | 80% | – | $1.1M | 10 | 18 | 4 |
| Maine Community Bank | Bank | 20 | 67% | – | $228K | 8.5 | 7 | 1 |
| Shoreham Bank | Bank | 20 | 36% | – | $150K | 10 | 1 | 16 |
| Community Bank of Mississippi | Bank | 19 | 90% | – | $495K | 15.5 | 11 | 3 |
| Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation | Non-bank | 19 | 100% | – | $130K | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| First Command Bank | Bank | 18 | 64% | – | $270K | 10 | 5 | 8 |
| Liberty Bank | Bank | 18 | 38% | – | $135K | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| NBT Bank | Bank | 18 | 72% | – | $240K | 8.5 | 4 | 4 |
| Sabre Finance | Non-bank | 17 | 100% | – | $171K | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Webster Bank | Bank | 17 | 15% | – | $160K | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| BMO Bank | Bank | 16 | 62% | – | $557K | 15 | 12 | 6 |
| BancFirst | Bank | 16 | 18% | – | $64K | 5.5 | 1 | 2 |
| PeopleFund | Non-bank | 16 | 100% | – | $124K | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Zions Bank | Bank | 16 | 2% | – | $651K | 10 | 12 | 6 |
| 1st Source Bank | Bank | 15 | 29% | – | $46K | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Community Trust Bank, Inc. | Bank | 15 | 38% | – | $91K | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| DreamSpring | Non-bank | 15 | 100% | – | $84K | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| Heritage Federal Credit Union | Credit union | 15 | 75% | – | $150K | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Nicolet National Bank | Bank | 15 | 38% | – | $469K | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | Non-bank | 15 | 1% | – | $50K | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| WaFd Bank | Bank | 15 | 8% | – | $18K | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Bristol County Savings Bank | Bank | 14 | 67% | – | $50K | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Citibank, N.A. | Bank | 14 | 45% | – | $38K | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| First Bank & Trust | Bank | 14 | 40% | – | $903K | 17 | 11 | 3 |
| Merrimack County Savings Bank | Bank | 14 | 52% | – | $138K | 7.2 | 4 | 1 |
| Summit CU | Credit union | 14 | 38% | – | $336K | 10 | 6 | 1 |
| EverBank | Bank | 13 | 100% | – | $1.1M | 25 | 13 | 4 |
| Five Star Bank | Bank | 13 | 46% | – | $50K | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Montana Community Development Corp. | Non-bank | 13 | 100% | – | $100K | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| The First National Bank in Sioux Falls | Bank | 13 | 100% | – | $155K | 9.8 | 4 | 1 |
| Trustmark Bank | Bank | 13 | 50% | – | $88K | 10 | 1 | 3 |
| Choice Financial Group | Bank | 12 | 80% | – | $255K | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| East West Bank | Bank | 12 | 7% | – | $1.5M | 25 | 12 | 5 |
| Village Bank and Trust | Bank | 12 | 50% | – | $508K | 10 | 8 | 3 |
| 21st Century Bank | Bank | 11 | 58% | – | $338K | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Alerus Financial | Bank | 11 | 42% | – | $1.1M | 10 | 9 | 4 |
| Baycoast Bank | Bank | 11 | 61% | – | $90K | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Commerce Bank | Bank | 11 | 52% | – | $200K | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company | Bank | 11 | 73% | – | $487K | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Live Oak Banking Company | Bank | 11 | 1% | – | $1.9M | 16 | 10 | 8 |
| Salem Five Cents Savings Bank | Bank | 11 | 32% | – | $150K | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| St. Charles Bank & Trust Company | Bank | 11 | 50% | – | $334K | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| St. Mary's Bank | Credit union | 11 | 65% | – | $180K | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Telhio Credit Union Inc | Credit union | 11 | 46% | – | $142K | 9.7 | 2 | 3 |
| Accompany Capital | Non-bank | 10 | 100% | – | $250K | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Bank First, N.A. | Bank | 10 | 38% | – | $342K | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| Community National Bank | Bank | 10 | 62% | – | $90K | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Florence Bank | Bank | 10 | 67% | – | $152K | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Glacier Bank | Bank | 10 | 17% | – | $242K | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| Institute Capital, Inc. | Non-bank | 10 | 100% | – | $170K | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| The Community Bank | Bank | 10 | 71% | – | $154K | 6.5 | 0 | 1 |
Read the columns together. A lender whose typical fixed-rate loan is $40,000 over five years is not the place to ask for a fixed rate on a $1 million purchase. 2,498 of the fixed-rate loans were for more than $350,000, from 341 lenders, and the column next to last shows who made them in number. 53% of all fixed-rate loans ran for ten years or more.
Some lenders make little else: 52 of the 92 in the table made at least half of their 7(a) loans at a fixed rate. And some never do. 25 of the 69 lenders with at least 100 loans in the period made none.
| Lender | 7(a) loans in the period, all variable |
|---|---|
| Newtek Bank | 3,427 |
| Celtic Bank Corporation | 1,201 |
| SmartBiz Bank (CenTrust) | 985 |
| Lendistry SBLC, LLC | 722 |
| Columbia Bank | 658 |
| Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC | 425 |
| Bank of Hope | 397 |
| US Metro Bank | 224 |
| Hanmi Bank | 219 |
| BayFirst National Bank | 214 |
| Citizens Bank (TN) | 209 |
| Port 51 Lending LLC | 205 |
| VelocitySBA, LLC | 192 |
| Pathward | 179 |
| Grasshopper Bank | 177 |
| GBank | 175 |
| Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB | 158 |
| Colony Bank | 154 |
| Mountain America FCU | 152 |
| Climate First Bank | 149 |
| Open Bank | 123 |
| First Merchants Bank | 114 |
| Commonwealth Business Bank | 114 |
| Magnifi Financial CU | 112 |
| Bank Five Nine | 108 |
That is a description, not a criticism, and it need not end the conversation. Several of the arrangements in the next section hold a rate still for years and are recorded as variable. But none of these lenders made a fixed-rate 7(a) loan in those twelve months.
What SBA's rules allow
The rate on a 7(a) loan is negotiated. SBA's lending manual puts it in one sentence: "The Lender negotiates the interest rate with the Applicant, subject to SBA's maximum allowable rates." Whether the rate is fixed is part of that negotiation, and it can be settled late. Until the first disbursement, a lender may change a loan from variable to fixed or from fixed to variable, with the borrower's written consent, as long as the new rate is within the maximum that applied when the loan was applied for.
The maximum for a fixed rate is set apart from the maximum for a variable one, by notice in the Federal Register. At most loan sizes it is higher.
| Loan amount | Maximum spread over prime | Maximum fixed rate with prime at 7% | Fixed-rate loans in the period | Their median spread | Priced at the maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | +8 points | 15% | 763 | +2.49 | 2 |
| $25,001–$50,000 | +7 points | 14% | 1,114 | +1.75 | 24 |
| $50,001–$250,000 | +6 points | 13% | 1,880 | +1.49 | 75 |
| Over $250,000 | +5 points | 12% | 2,973 | +0.49 | 7 |
A variable-rate loan over $350,000 may not exceed prime plus 3 points. A fixed-rate loan of that size may go to prime plus 5. Lenders make almost no use of the extra room: 108 of the 6,730 fixed-rate loans were priced at the maximum, and the typical fixed-rate loan over $250,000 sat 0.49 points over prime.
The higher ceiling is only for a rate that holds for the entire term, "without adjustment or reset" in the manual's words. Anything else is held to the variable-rate maximum.
A fully fixed rate is not the only way to steady a payment. The manual describes four others.
| Arrangement | What SBA's manual says | How the loan is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed-rate loan | One rate for the whole term, written in the note. The payment has to pay the loan off in full by maturity; SBA does not allow a balloon. | Fixed |
| A variable-rate loan whose first adjustment is delayed | The rate is set for an opening period and floats after that. SBA's manual gives five years as an example of how long lenders have made that period. | Variable |
| A ceiling on a variable rate | The note may limit how far the rate can rise, if it also sets a floor at least as far below the starting rate. With a note rate of 10% and a ceiling of 12%, the floor must be 8% or lower. | Variable |
| An interest rate swap | A separate contract, with the lender or a third party, under which the borrower pays a set rate. SBA is not a party to it. | Variable |
| A fixed rate on one portion of the loan | A lender may fix the rate on the guaranteed or the unguaranteed portion and float the other. SBA then treats the whole loan as variable. | Variable |
None of the four appears in the records as a fixed-rate loan. That is one reason a lender with no fixed-rate loans may still have something to offer.
What a fixed rate is worth
Take $250,000 over 10 years at the two median rates for term loans of that size: 7.95% fixed, and 9.75% variable to start with. The fixed loan costs $3,027 a month from the first payment to the last. The variable loan starts at $3,269, which is $242 more, and then follows prime.
| If prime, after the loan is made | Variable rate becomes | Variable payment | Against the fixed payment, each month |
|---|---|---|---|
| falls 2 points | 7.75% | $3,000 | −$27 |
| falls 1 point | 8.75% | $3,133 | +$106 |
| stays where it was | 9.75% | $3,269 | +$242 |
| rises 1 point | 10.75% | $3,408 | +$381 |
| rises 2 points | 11.75% | $3,551 | +$524 |
If prime never moved, the variable loan would cost $29,000 more over the ten years. Prime would have to fall by about 1.8 points, and stay there, for the two loans to cost the same. If it rose two points, the variable loan would cost $524 a month more than the fixed one.
Two cautions. The table applies each rate to the whole ten years, which overstates a change that comes late: a real loan re-amortizes over the months that remain. And it compares two medians, not two offers made to the same borrower. Put your own quotes into the 7(a) calculator.
If you want a fixed rate
- Ask every lender for both quotes, in writing. The rate is negotiated, and a lender that leads with a variable rate may still fix one.
- Start with lenders that make fixed-rate loans like yours. Sort the table by loans over $350,000, or by term, before you call. A lender in the second table made none in the twelve months studied here.
- Ask what "fixed" means. A rate set for five years that floats afterwards is a variable-rate loan under SBA's rules. Ask for the date of the first adjustment, how often the rate can change after it, and any ceiling. All of that has to be in the note.
- Check the quote against the maximum. The table above gives the ceiling for your loan size with prime where it is today.
- If the lender will not fix the rate, ask about the alternatives. A later first adjustment and a ceiling are both allowed by the manual.
- You can still ask after approval. Until the loan is disbursed, the lender may switch it to a fixed rate at your request, within the maximum.
What these numbers are not
- Not quotes. Each rate is what one borrower was given at approval. It says what was possible, not what you will be offered.
- Not like for like. Fixed and variable loans come from different lenders and go to different borrowers. Only the comparison inside one lender allows for the first, and nothing in the file allows for the second.
- One period. The loans were approved while prime was falling. The price of fixing a rate at another point in the cycle may look different.
- "Fixed" is what the lender reported. We cannot see the notes. A loan recorded as fixed should hold its rate for the whole term; one with a fixed opening period should be recorded as variable.
- The lender shown is the current holder. If a loan was sold, or the lender merged, the file shows the lender it is assigned to now.
- Spreads are measured against prime. A variable-rate loan may be tied to another base rate that SBA permits. We compare every loan with prime on the first business day of the month it was approved.
- Thin for most lenders. A lender needs 10 fixed-rate loans to be listed and 25 for a median rate. 33 lenders have one.
Method in brief
We used SBA's public file of 7(a) loans approved since fiscal 2020, dated June 30, 2026, and took the loans approved from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 that were not cancelled and carry a rate: the same 49,520 loans as the study of rates. A loan is fixed if the file marks it so. Comparisons of price use term loans only, because lines of credit are almost all variable. A group needs at least 25 loans for its median to be shown. The share of fixed-rate loans by fiscal year uses both of SBA's files, from fiscal 2010, without cancelled loans.
A loan's spread is its rate minus the prime rate on the first business day of the month it was approved. It is "at the maximum" when that spread equals SBA's limit for a fixed rate of that size to within half a hundredth of a point. The worked example uses the standard payment formula, the same one as our calculators. The full method and the table to download are on the data page.
Sources
- 7(a) & 504 FOIA dataset, U.S. Small Business Administration. Loan-level records as of June 30, 2026. Every count, share and rate in this article. The file marks each loan as fixed or variable. Checked October 10, 2026.
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs, U.S. Small Business Administration. Effective October 1, 2026. Appendix 18, 7(a) Interest Rate Requirements: what counts as a fixed rate, changes before disbursement, delayed adjustments, ceilings and floors, combinations, swaps, amortization. Checked October 10, 2026.
- Maximum Allowable 7(a) Fixed Interest Rates, 87 FR 46883, Federal Register. Effective August 1, 2022. The spread over prime that a fixed rate may not exceed, by loan amount. Checked October 10, 2026.
- New Maximum Allowable Fixed Rate for 7(a) Loans, October 2026, U.S. Small Business Administration, Fiscal Transfer Agent wiki. SBA's monthly table, dated October 6, 2026. It gives 12%, 13%, 14% and 15% for the four loan sizes with prime at 7%, the same spreads as the 2022 notice. Checked October 10, 2026.
- Bank Prime Loan Rate (DPRIME), Federal Reserve Board, H.15 release, via FRED. Daily values. Prime went from 6.75% to 7.00% on September 17, 2026. Series last updated October 5, 2026. Checked October 10, 2026.
Corrections and updates
- First published.