Market share for the top 25 SBA lenders
We analyzed SBA loan data from 2017 to 2022 and tabulated the numbers below. A few of our takeaways from this report:
- The top 25’s share of the market remained fairly stable – roughly 35% to 40% per year.
- SBA loan volume increased 65% over the past five years.
- Only six banks were able to grow market share relative to peers during this period (i.e., above 65% market growth): Readycap, Bank of George, Cadence, Harvest, First Bank of the Lake, and Peoples Bank. The remaining 19 banks experienced relative market share declines.
- Wells Fargo, the top SBA lender in 2018, has dramatically shifted its focus away from SBA lending.
- The biggest four banks in America (JPMorgan, Citi, BofA, and Wells Fargo) account for ~ 33% of bank deposits, but only BofA and Wells made the top 25 even though their customer bases are multiples larger than others in the top 25.
| Rank | SBA Lender | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 5 Yr Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking | 7.2% | 6.8% | 7.6% | 6.1% | 4.3% | 5.8% | 25% |
| 2 | Huntington National Bank | 4.4% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 3.4% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 10% |
| 3 | Newtek Small Business Finance | 3.4% | 2.0% | 1.1% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.2% | 56% |
| 4 | Celtic Bank | 2.6% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 45% |
| 5 | Byline Bank | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 1.9% | -1% |
| 6 | Readycap Lending | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 201% |
| 7 | Wells Fargo Bank | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.8% | 6.1% | 5.0% | 7.4% | -79% |
| 8 | BayFirst National Bank | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 16% |
| 9 | GBank d/b/a Bank of George | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 229% |
| 10 | Cadence Bank | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 125% |
| 11 | Harvest Small Business Finance | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 99% |
| 12 | First Bank of the Lake | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 628% |
| 13 | Commonwealth Business Bank | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 12% |
| 14 | Enterprise Bank & Trust | 1.0% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.2% | -16% |
| 15 | Bank of America | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 36% |
| 16 | TD Bank | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.7% | -45% |
| 17 | Hanmi Bank | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 46% |
| 18 | Berkshire Bank | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 33% |
| 19 | KeyBank | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | -44% |
| 20 | Open Bank | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 10% |
| 21 | U.S. Bank | 0.8% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.1% | -29% |
| 22 | M&T | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 9% |
| 23 | Bank of the West | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | -41% |
| 24 | Peoples Bank | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 466% |
| 25 | Pinnacle Bank | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 8% |
| Top 25 % of All SBA Loans | 41% | 34% | 37% | 42% | 36% | 39% | 4% | |
| Total SBA Lending/Growth | $20.2B | $29.3B | $16B | $14.8B | $13.9B | $12.3B | 65% |
Top SBA lender in each state (based on # of SBA loans created)
Many banks in the United States have a geographical focus to comply with regulations, better understand their customer base, manage risk, and build relationships within their local communities. This local focus explains why the leading lender based on number of consummated loans is typically a bank with a statewide focus, except for U.S. Bank and Huntington, which are leaders in smaller loans in markets where they have a physical presence.
Top SBA lender in each state (based on total SBA loan dollars)
Pure-play SBA-focused banks, such as Live Oak and Celtic, have national or close to national footprints. Instead of a geographical focus, pure-play SBA lenders tend to focus on traditionally lucrative industries for SBA loans — larger loan size and higher volume. For example, pure plays like Live Oak and Celtic have average loans of $1.5M and $800K, respectively, traditional banks that also do SBA lending like U.S. Bank and Huntington have average loans of $132K and $213K, respectively. As a result, the top lender by state looks much different when viewed by total dollars lent:
Economic impact of top 25 SBA lenders
As clearly demonstrated by the table below, smaller SBA loans are more efficient at supporting jobs in a community than larger SBA loans.
Small SBA loans — under $500,000 or so – are typically utilized to cover working capital needs — such as inventory, payroll, and rent — or expanding employment. In contrast, larger loans are often used for capital investments, such as purchasing equipment, real estate, or an acquisition of an entire business. While these investments may also lead to job creation, they do not support as many jobs on a relative basis as smaller loans.
A comparison of M&T (average loan of $163K and loan/jobs ratio of $27K) to Bank of George (average loan of $2.4M and loan/jobs ratio of $541k) highlight the capital efficiency of smaller loans. Because BofG focuses primarily on lending to finance hotel acquisitions, which are real estate heavy and frequently do not materially change employment post-acquisition), BofG’s loan/jobs ratio is 19 times higher than M&T’s.
| Rank | SBA Lender | Avg Loan | Jobs | Loan/Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M&T | $163,440 | 5,614 | $27,570 |
| 2 | U.S. Bank | $132,144 | 5,191 | $30,700 |
| 3 | BayFirst National Bank | $277,252 | 10,357 | $30,705 |
| 4 | TD Bank | $131,682 | 6,315 | $30,903 |
| 5 | Huntington National Bank | $213,698 | 28,268 | $31,494 |
| 6 | Cadence Bank | $324,863 | 7,504 | $32,556 |
| 7 | Bank of America | $430,010 | 4,971 | $41,349 |
| 8 | KeyBank | $349,129 | 4,159 | $42,644 |
| 9 | Newtek Small Business Finance | $658,418 | 15,597 | $43,650 |
| 10 | Wells Fargo Bank | $247,767 | 5,813 | $54,728 |
| 11 | Bank of the West | $1,013,236 | 2,406 | $63,590 |
| 12 | Byline Bank | $1,230,086 | 5,654 | $66,356 |
| 13 | Pinnacle Bank | $1,172,836 | 2,191 | $67,447 |
| 14 | Readycap Lending | $465,437 | 5,276 | $70,221 |
| 15 | Berkshire Bank | $1,146,261 | 2,703 | $70,820 |
| 16 | Enterprise Bank & Trust | $1,212,198 | 2,855 | $73,029 |
| 17 | First Bank of the Lake | $1,376,172 | 2,830 | $76,832 |
| 18 | Live Oak Banking | $1,517,241 | 17,501 | $83,227 |
| 19 | Harvest Small Business Finance | $1,107,822 | 2,655 | $86,373 |
| 20 | Celtic Bank | $834,370 | 6,032 | $88,389 |
| 21 | Peoples Bank | $1,105,545 | 1,692 | $89,515 |
| 22 | Hanmi Bank | $1,190,855 | 1,607 | $120,049 |
| 23 | Commonwealth Business Bank | $1,285,548 | 1,349 | $159,145 |
| 24 | Open Bank | $2,098,391 | 824 | $203,727 |
| 25 | GBank d/b/a Bank of George | $2,421,664 | 461 | $541,066 |
Top SBA lenders ranked based on population segment
The US government defines metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural/small town areas based on the size of their population and their proximity to urban centers. These definitions are used by various government agencies to allocate resources and funding, among other purposes.
- Metropolitan: Metropolitan areas are defined as having a population of at least 50,000 people and an urban core of at least 50,000 people. They may include one or more counties, and are typically characterized by a high degree of economic and social interconnectedness.
- Micropolitan: Micropolitan areas are defined as having a population of at least 10,000 people but less than 50,000 people, and an urban core of at least 10,000 people. They may include one or more counties, and are typically less interconnected than metropolitan areas.
- Rural/small town: Rural areas are defined as having a population of less than 10,000 people and not located within a metropolitan area. Small town areas are generally considered to be a subset of rural areas, with populations ranging from a few hundred to several thousand people.
Not surprisingly, the banks focused on SBA lending did very well lending in urban and rural environments alike:
| SBA Bank | Metro | Micro | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Oak Banking Company | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Huntington National Bank | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Newtek Small Business Finance, Inc. | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Celtic Bank Corporation | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Byline Bank | 5 | 7 | ** |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | 7 | 18 | ** |
| BayFirst National Bank | 8 | 13 | 11 |
| Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC | 9 | ** | ** |
| Cadence Bank | 10 | 15 | 18 |
| Commonwealth Business Bank | 14 | 8 | ** |
| GBank d/b/a Bank of George | 16 | 3 | 5 |
| America First FCU | ** | ** | 9 |
| First Financial Bank | ** | 14 | 8 |
| Hiawatha National Bank | ** | ** | 7 |
| Open Bank | ** | 9 | ** |
| Peoples Bank | ** | 6 | 10 |
| ** Not ranked in top 20 |
SBA lending appears to mirror the population areas defined above. For example, metropolitan areas were 87% of all loan issued and 84% of the U.S. population.
| Area Definition | # of Loans | % | Total Loan $$$ | % | Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan | 27,817 | 87% | $16,576,370,300 | 88% | 84% |
| Micropolitan | 2,263 | 7% | $1,370,095,300 | 7% | 10% |
| Rural/Small Town | 1,727 | 5% | $987,814,200 | 5% | 6% |