Twelve months ending June 30, 2026
The SBA Acquisition Lender Index
A ranking of the most active SBA 7(a) acquisition lenders, built from the SBA's own loan-level data for the trailing twelve months ending June 30, 2026.
The 100 most active acquisition lenders
Ranked by the number of change-of-ownership 7(a) loans approved in the period. Dollar columns are gross approval amounts as recorded by the SBA. Share of book is the portion of each lender's total 7(a) approvals that were acquisitions.
| # | Lender | State | Acquisition loans | Total approved | Median loan | $2M+ loans | Share of book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | OH | 821 | $667M | $343K | 108 | 20% |
| 2 | Live Oak Banking Company | NC | 598 | $787M | $900K | 143 | 28% |
| 3 | First Internet Bank of Indiana | IN | 217 | $261M | $843K | 49 | 64% |
| 4 | Byline Bank | IL | 174 | $224M | $924K | 35 | 40% |
| 5 | Hanmi Bank | CA | 122 | $103M | $657K | 7 | 54% |
| 6 | Newtek Bank, National Association | FL | 104 | $43.3M | $200K | 5 | 2% |
| 7 | Celtic Bank Corporation | UT | 101 | $152M | $954K | 28 | 8% |
| 8 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | OH | 100 | $92.7M | $658K | 10 | 11% |
| 9 | GBank | NV | 93 | $282M | $2.9M | 56 | 50% |
| 10 | Pathward National Association | SD | 88 | $183M | $1.7M | 36 | 45% |
| 11 | US Metro Bank | CA | 88 | $159M | $1.5M | 31 | 36% |
| 12 | VelocitySBA, LLC | TX | 81 | $93.1M | $828K | 12 | 40% |
| 13 | Zions Bank, A Division of | UT | 81 | $69.4M | $489K | 10 | 9% |
| 14 | Beacon Bank and Trust | MA | 80 | $164M | $1.6M | 35 | 50% |
| 15 | Truliant FCU | NC | 78 | $116M | $1.2M | 19 | 64% |
| 16 | Open Bank | CA | 72 | $138M | $1.4M | 28 | 54% |
| 17 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | NY | 71 | $37.5M | $256K | 6 | 2% |
| 18 | TowneBank | VA | 65 | $72.0M | $961K | 6 | 37% |
| 19 | Readycap Lending, LLC | NJ | 58 | $95.5M | $1.4M | 18 | 4% |
| 20 | PCB Bank | CA | 58 | $74.6M | $677K | 12 | 57% |
| 21 | U.S. Bank, National Association | OH | 55 | $59.5M | $823K | 8 | 2% |
| 22 | First Financial Bank | OH | 54 | $67.7M | $1.2M | 10 | 35% |
| 23 | Fifth Third Bank | OH | 50 | $75.3M | $924K | 17 | 12% |
| 24 | Midwest Regional Bank | MO | 50 | $48.7M | $650K | 9 | 45% |
| 25 | Old National Bank | IN | 49 | $61.9M | $577K | 10 | 27% |
| 26 | East West Bank | CA | 47 | $32.2M | $587K | 1 | 27% |
| 27 | Port 51 Lending LLC | NY | 46 | $74.4M | $1.3M | 11 | 21% |
| 28 | The Fidelity Bank | NC | 44 | $40.6M | $801K | 3 | 60% |
| 29 | Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB | DE | 41 | $43.8M | $760K | 9 | 23% |
| 30 | The Bancorp Bank National Association | SD | 40 | $46.2M | $1.1M | 4 | 34% |
| 31 | T Bank, National Association | TX | 38 | $75.8M | $1.6M | 15 | 44% |
| 32 | Centerstone SBA Lending, Inc. | CA | 38 | $53.8M | $1.3M | 7 | 43% |
| 33 | Milestone Bank | UT | 37 | $55.8M | $1.3M | 12 | 57% |
| 34 | Pinnacle Bank | TN | 37 | $52.9M | $1.0M | 10 | 20% |
| 35 | Bankwell Bank | CT | 36 | $78.6M | $2.0M | 18 | 42% |
| 36 | Bank of Hope | CA | 35 | $72.5M | $1.2M | 15 | 8% |
| 37 | Metro City Bank | GA | 32 | $56.3M | $1.4M | 11 | 36% |
| 38 | Merchants Bank of Indiana | IN | 32 | $52.3M | $1.1M | 11 | 46% |
| 39 | First Merchants Bank | IN | 32 | $48.2M | $1.1M | 9 | 26% |
| 40 | Northwest Bank | ID | 31 | $54.4M | $1.1M | 11 | 19% |
| 41 | Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company | LA | 31 | $40.4M | $930K | 8 | 22% |
| 42 | Citizens Bank | TN | 31 | $34.8M | $824K | 6 | 14% |
| 43 | Bank of America, National Association | NC | 30 | $40.7M | $900K | 6 | 6% |
| 44 | United FCU | MI | 30 | $32.6M | $960K | 1 | 61% |
| 45 | BankVista | MN | 30 | $18.8M | $240K | 2 | 47% |
| 46 | Hancock Whitney Bank | MS | 29 | $19.5M | $458K | 2 | 23% |
| 47 | Webster Bank National Association | CT | 29 | $16.7M | $360K | 2 | 21% |
| 48 | Southwestern National Bank | TX | 28 | $60.9M | $1.8M | 11 | 56% |
| 49 | First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | NC | 27 | $50.6M | $1.7M | 10 | 18% |
| 50 | Associated Bank National Association | WI | 27 | $29.4M | $548K | 5 | 40% |
| 51 | American Continental Bank | CA | 27 | $28.1M | $805K | 4 | 71% |
| 52 | Rockland Trust Company | MA | 27 | $14.3M | $211K | 2 | 24% |
| 53 | Gesa CU | WA | 26 | $20.5M | $706K | 2 | 41% |
| 54 | Climate First Bank | FL | 25 | $37.0M | $998K | 6 | 15% |
| 55 | Evolve Bank and Trust | AR | 25 | $32.5M | $840K | 5 | 58% |
| 56 | First Bank of the Lake | MO | 24 | $40.8M | $1.0M | 9 | 5% |
| 57 | OakStar Bank | MO | 24 | $40.1M | $1.6M | 7 | 26% |
| 58 | United Community Bank | SC | 24 | $34.2M | $715K | 6 | 22% |
| 59 | BayFirst National Bank | FL | 24 | $12.2M | $367K | 0 | 11% |
| 60 | Banner Bank | WA | 22 | $15.4M | $657K | 1 | 12% |
| 61 | American Momentum Bank | TX | 21 | $26.5M | $1.0M | 5 | 50% |
| 62 | Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC | CA | 20 | $28.5M | $935K | 4 | 4% |
| 63 | Falcon National Bank | MN | 20 | $21.0M | $1.1M | 2 | 44% |
| 64 | Plumas Bank | CA | 20 | $17.4M | $533K | 3 | 38% |
| 65 | First Interstate Bank | MT | 19 | $24.8M | $350K | 4 | 38% |
| 66 | Customers Bank | PA | 19 | $15.5M | $913K | 2 | 49% |
| 67 | FFB Bank | CA | 19 | $13.0M | $355K | 2 | 39% |
| 68 | Shoreham Bank | RI | 18 | $54.0M | $2.5M | 14 | 26% |
| 69 | FDIC - Community Bank & Trust-West Georgia | GA | 18 | $32.2M | $1.5M | 5 | 19% |
| 70 | PromiseOne Bank | GA | 18 | $28.4M | $1.0M | 6 | 28% |
| 71 | Fulton Bank, National Association | PA | 18 | $20.1M | $688K | 4 | 21% |
| 72 | Capital Community Bank | UT | 18 | $16.4M | $854K | 2 | 23% |
| 73 | Union Bank and Trust Company | NE | 18 | $9.1M | $375K | 1 | 27% |
| 74 | Global One Bank | TX | 17 | $36.6M | $925K | 8 | 63% |
| 75 | Colony Bank | GA | 17 | $24.3M | $1.1M | 4 | 11% |
| 76 | Heritage Bank Inc | KY | 17 | $20.3M | $905K | 3 | 16% |
| 77 | UMB Bank, National Association | MO | 17 | $20.0M | $740K | 3 | 31% |
| 78 | Capital Bank, National Association | MD | 17 | $19.2M | $720K | 3 | 22% |
| 79 | First Commonwealth Bank | PA | 16 | $16.4M | $747K | 2 | 9% |
| 80 | Bank Five Nine | WI | 16 | $9.2M | $354K | 0 | 13% |
| 81 | Mission Valley Bank | CA | 15 | $26.5M | $1.2M | 4 | 26% |
| 82 | City National Bank of Florida | FL | 15 | $25.1M | $1.1M | 4 | 38% |
| 83 | KeyBank National Association | OH | 15 | $21.8M | $810K | 4 | 3% |
| 84 | Banesco USA | FL | 15 | $17.8M | $940K | 4 | 45% |
| 85 | Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company | KY | 15 | $10.5M | $450K | 1 | 25% |
| 86 | Mountain Pacific Bank | WA | 14 | $37.8M | $2.4M | 8 | 67% |
| 87 | Grasshopper Bank National Association | NY | 14 | $27.1M | $2.0M | 7 | 7% |
| 88 | Seacoast National Bank | FL | 14 | $22.1M | $1.2M | 3 | 36% |
| 89 | Woori America Bank | NY | 14 | $17.8M | $540K | 3 | 16% |
| 90 | SouthState Bank, National Association | FL | 14 | $13.2M | $462K | 3 | 13% |
| 91 | First National Bank of Pennsylvania | PA | 14 | $12.5M | $615K | 3 | 15% |
| 92 | First Horizon Bank | TN | 13 | $22.5M | $1.2M | 6 | 28% |
| 93 | ConnectOne Bank | NJ | 13 | $20.6M | $1.4M | 3 | 20% |
| 94 | Busey Bank | IL | 13 | $15.1M | $1.0M | 3 | 25% |
| 95 | PNC Bank, National Association | DE | 13 | $14.6M | $500K | 4 | 6% |
| 96 | Meridian Bank | PA | 13 | $10.6M | $985K | 1 | 21% |
| 97 | Emprise Bank | KS | 13 | $10.4M | $479K | 2 | 25% |
| 98 | First Western SBLC, LLC | TX | 12 | $29.9M | $2.5M | 6 | 80% |
| 99 | First Business Bank | WI | 12 | $20.3M | $995K | 4 | 32% |
| 100 | City National Bank | CA | 12 | $18.1M | $1.5M | 2 | 12% |
Lender names appear as they are recorded in SBA data. Table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
How to read this
A loan approval amount is not a purchase price
The SBA records what it guarantees. A purchase price is usually funded by the loan plus buyer equity and seller financing, and the loan itself can also cover working capital or closing costs. Deals are therefore generally larger than the loans that finance them.
The $2M+ column is a proxy, not a measurement
The new SOP measures its three million dollar Quality of Earnings threshold on purchase price, determined before the application of buyer equity, seller debt or other financing sources. Loan-level data cannot see that number. Counting loans at or above two million dollars is a directional read on which lenders sit closest to the mandate, not a count of transactions that trigger it.
Share of book separates specialists from generalists
A lender writing a large share of its 7(a) book as change-of-ownership loans has built an acquisition practice. A lender with a low share may still rank high by count simply because its overall 7(a) volume is large. Both can be good places to take a deal, but the process, the diligence expectations and the speed tend to differ.
Median loan size tells you where a lender lives
Medians in this table range from roughly two hundred thousand dollars to several million. A lender whose median sits near your deal size has an underwriting model built for transactions like yours, which matters more than its position in the ranking.
What changes for these lenders on October 1, 2026
SOP 50 10 8.1 takes effect for loans that receive an SBA loan number on or after October 1, 2026. On qualifying change-of-ownership transactions at or above three million dollars in purchase price, the lender must commission an independent Quality of Earnings report, and that report must include a Cash Proof: a reconstruction of cash receipts and disbursements tying bank statement data to the income statement and the tax return for each period under review. Owner Buyout and ESOP or Cooperative transactions are exempt.
The findings then drive the coverage calculation, and initial acquisitions have to clear 1.25 to 1 on historical earnings. That makes the analysis a gating item on the larger deals in this table rather than a document produced after credit approval. What the new rules require walks through the SOP text in full.
If you are choosing between lenders on this list, it is worth knowing whether the deal covers before you pick one. The SBA coverage calculator runs the same arithmetic an underwriter will, on your own numbers.
Methodology
- Source.The SBA's public 7(a) loan-level FOIA dataset of approvals, which lists every 7(a) loan the agency approved, one row per loan.
- Filter. Loans coded Change of Ownership in the business age field, which is how the SBA flags an acquisition of an existing business.
- Period. Approvals in the trailing twelve months ending June 30, 2026, measured on approval date rather than funding or closing date.
- Amounts. Gross approval amounts, meaning the full loan rather than the guaranteed portion. Totals and medians are computed on the unrounded figures and rounded only for display.
- Scope. 7(a) only. SBA 504 loans, conventional acquisition debt and seller financing are outside this dataset, so a lender active in those markets can be larger in acquisitions than it looks here.
- Names. Lender names appear as recorded in SBA records, which is how the agency reports them and not always how the bank brands itself. Bank subsidiaries and separately licensed lending companies are reported separately and are not consolidated to a parent.
- Refresh. The index is rebuilt when the SBA posts the next quarterly file.
Corrections are welcome. If a figure here does not match your own records, tell us which loan set you are counting and we will check it against the file.
Frequently asked questions
Which SBA lender does the most business acquisition lending?
By loan count in the trailing twelve months ending June 30, 2026, The Huntington National Bank approved the most change-of-ownership 7(a) loans, followed by Live Oak Banking Company and First Internet Bank of Indiana. By dollars approved the order changes, because median loan size varies widely between lenders. Volume is a measure of activity, not of fit for a particular deal.
Does a high rank mean a lender is the right one for my deal?
No. This index measures how much acquisition lending a bank did, not how it prices, how fast it closes, or whether it lends in your industry, size range or state. A lender that wrote 30 acquisition loans at a median near your deal size may be a better match than one that wrote 300 much smaller ones. Use the median loan size and the share-of-book columns to find lenders whose book actually looks like your transaction.
What does share of book mean?
It is the percentage of a lender’s total 7(a) approvals in the period that were change-of-ownership loans. A high share means acquisition financing is a specialty rather than a sideline. A large bank with a low share can still be among the most active lenders by count, because its total 7(a) book is very large.
Is the loan amount the same as the purchase price?
No. The SBA records the gross loan approval amount. A purchase price is typically funded by the loan plus buyer equity, seller financing and sometimes other sources, and the loan can also cover working capital or closing costs. Purchase price is normally higher than the loan amount, which is why the loan-size columns here are directional rather than a measurement of deal size.
How does the October 2026 SOP change affect these lenders?
From October 1, 2026, SOP 50 10 8.1 requires an independent Quality of Earnings report, including a Cash Proof, on qualifying change-of-ownership transactions at or above three million dollars in purchase price. The report is commissioned by the lender and its findings drive the debt service coverage calculation. Owner Buyout and ESOP or Cooperative transactions are exempt from the requirement.
Where does this data come from and how often is it updated?
The SBA publishes a loan-level 7(a) approvals dataset under FOIA. This index is built from that file, filtered to loans coded as Change of Ownership and approved during the trailing twelve months ending June 30, 2026. It is refreshed when the SBA posts the next quarterly file.
Working an acquisition against the October standard?
Whether you are buying or lending, the analysis that decides these deals is the same one. Tell us where the deal sits and we will tell you what it looks like under the new rules.