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SBA Interest Rates — Current Rates of Interest and How They Function

sba-loan-ratesThere are 3 primary types of SBA loans: SBA 7A Loans, SBA Express Loans, and CDC/504 Loans. SBA 7A loans and SBA Express loans can be used for a vast array of purposes, including expansion funding and refinancing. CDC/504 loans, on the other hand, are especially for purchasing fixed assets such as property and heavy machines.

May 2018 Maximum interest rates on SBA 7A Loans vary from 7% to 9.50 percent. Full Table

Might 2018 Maximum interest rates for the CDC portion of CDC/504 Loans now vary from 4.88% to 5.15% including fees. Full Table

Click Here For Exact Rates & See if You Qualify

Before reading further, make certain you are qualified. Although there are exceptions, and startups are sometimes qualified, but you will find five general prerequisites for obtaining an SBA loan:

  • In business at least 2 years
  • Personal credit score is 680+ (check your score for free )
  • Hunting at least 30,000
  • At least $100,000 in revenues for the past 12 weeks
  • Business is profitable

Sound like you?  Well qualified borrowers can get pre-qualified for up to $350K of SBA financing online in minutes. Our preferred SBA loan provider has a compact SBA loan process which funding companies in as little as one week. See how much you pre-qualify for.

Click Here To Get Pre-Qualified

Current SBA (7A) Loan Interest Rates and Explanation

The Small Business Administration (SBA) sets the maximum rates of interest that banks can control on 7A loans. The present maximum interest rate ranges from 7.00percent —  9.50%, based on the size of the loan along with the amount being borrowed.

The highest interest rates on SBA 7A loans will also be based on market interest rates. As market interest rates vary, so will the highest rates of interest on such loans.

Maximum Interest Rates on SBA 7A Loans for May 2018

Loan Size:
Conventional 7a (Repayment Term Less Than 7 Years)
Conventional 7a (Repayment Period 7 Decades or Greater)
Less Than $25K
9 percent (4.75% base speed + 4.25% markup)
9.50% (4.75% base speed + 4.75% markup)
$25k — 50K
8% (4.75% base rate + 3.25% markup)
8.50percent (4.75% base speed + 3.75% markup)
Over $50K
7% (4.75% base speed + 2.25% markup)
7.50percent (4.75% base speed + 2.75% markup)

If you have been in business for 2years, have a credit score of 680+, and have gross yearly earnings of $100K, you might be qualified for SBA financing with our favorite SBA loan supplier. Get prequalified online for up to $350K in moments.

Click Here To Get Pre-Qualified

Detailed SBA 7(a) Interest Rate Explanation* Please notice SBA 7A Express loans carry a higher interest rate for comparable size amounts and terms than the standard 7A loans over. We advocate preventing SBA Express loans as firms like SmartBiz can offer approval for the typical 7A with comparable turnaround times.

As the table above shows, the  highest interest rate on SBA 7(a) loans is based on three variables:

  1. A base rate (among the following publicly available interest rate steps ): Prime Rate,  LIBOR (one month) + 3.0 percent, or SBA Peg Rate
  2. The term of this loan: Less than 7 years or more than 7 years.   For instance, 3 and 5 year loans would all fall into precisely the exact same category of under 7 years.
  3. The dimensions of this loan: Under $25,000, $25,000 to $49,999, and more than $50,000.  As an example, loans of $30,000 and $45,000 will fall under the same category.

As the table reveals, loans longer than 7 years have a maximum interest rate that is half a percent higher than similar size loans that are for terms that are less than 7 years.

Loans for more than $50,000 have 1% lower maximum interest rates than loans between $25,000 and $49,999 when taken for similar terms. In the same way, loans for $25,000 to $49,999 have 1 percent lower maximum interest rates than loans for less than $25,000.

If you’re interested in applying for an SBA Loan, we recommend checking out SmartBiz. They’re the best company we have found at providing rapid turnarounds on SBA loan approvals, and also you can find out how much you qualify for in 5 minutes.

Fixed vs. Variable SBA Interest Rates

7A loans can have a fixed or variable interest rate.   Having a fixed rate loan, the loan interest rate remains constant throughout the life of the loan. With a variable rate loan, the loan’s interest rate can change (frequently referred to as a reset) in regular intervals, such as quarterly or monthly.

With varying rate SBA 7A loans, the speed is reset based on one of three publicly available market interest rate numbers, and a predetermined percentage. The rate of interest should always be at or below the highest interest rate specified by the SBA. For smaller size SBA loans (such as those under $500,000), banks often provide only variable rate loans, with interest rates at or close to the maximum allowable from the SBA.

The Base Rate And Interest Rate Resets

Banks can select one of three market interest rate steps as their base speed. All these will be the prime rate, LIBOR + 3.0%, or the SBA peg rate. While there are small differences between these rates, they tend to track each other very carefully. The Prime Rate is the one that’s most commonly utilized.

Rates as of May 1, 2018:

  • Prime Rate: 4.75% (source: WSJ)
  • LIBOR (1 month) + 3.0%: 4.90% (source: Bankrate)
  • SBA PEG Rate: 2.63percent (source: National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders)

These rates might go up or down based on market conditions. Currently, they stay at decade-low levels. Over the previous ten years, the Prime Rate has been as high as 8.3 percent.

With a variable rate SBA 7A Loan, as market interest rates rise so will the rate on the loan. Let us take the example of a 10-year loan for $50,000 with interest rates rising by 2%.

The maximum interest rate on the loan now would be 8.50%, with a monthly payment of $620 a month. With a 2% increase in interest rates upon the interest rate reset, the speed would be 10.50%, with a monthly payment of $675 (this could be the monthly increase for a newly issued loan. If the loan has been older, the increase in monthly payment could be lower).

Interest Rates Aren’t The Only Prices To Borrowing Money:  APR/APY

When choosing a loan, there is often an origination fee. This fee allegedly covers the costs of their lender or bank of creating the loan, such as marketing expenses. However, the origination fee is not directly based on costs and is set by the bank. An origination fee of 4 percent isn’t uncommon. The fee is typically taken”off the top”. By way of instance, a borrower taking a $50,000 SBA loan with a 4 percent origination fee could only receive $48,000.

SBA 7(a) loans also possess a guarantee fee. At first, the lender pays this charge to the SBA, but it’s almost always passed on to the borrower at closing. Presently, the SBA has waived fees for loans under $150,000. Above the fee generally ranges from 3 percent to 3.5% of the guaranteed portion of the loan. The precise percentage depends on the size of the loan and the length of the loan. By way of instance, if a borrower chooses a 250,000 10-year 7a loan, then the SBA may guarantee 75 percent of that, or $187,500. 3% of that sum, or $5,625, is your guarantee fee which will be billed to the debtor. For more info, click here.

The real cost of borrowing money (interest rate + fees) is often known as the APY (Annual Percentage Yield) or APR (Annual Percentage Rate). On a ten year SBA loan, the impact of fees can make an APR or APY that’s around 1 percent greater than the loan’s interest rate. The shorter the loan that the larger the impact that fees will have over the APY/APR.

What size SBA loan would you qualify for? Apply with SmartBiz and get an estimate in minutes.

May 2018 SBA Loan Rates On Actual CDC / 504 Loans

The Small Business Administration (SBA) sets the highest interest that banks may charge on CDC/504 loans. The present maximum interest rates from 4.88% to 5.15%, depending on the size of the loan and the amount being borrowed.

The highest interest rates on CDC/504 loans are also based on market interest rates. As market interest rates change, so will the highest rates of interest on such loans.

Even though a 7A SBA Loan may be used to purchase property, a Real CDC / 504 Loan will have a tendency to provide borrowers with tremendous rate of interest savings. A CDC / 504 loan Consists of two loans:

  1. A loan from a bank (bank) for generally 50 percent of the purchase price of the house, equipment, and building upgrades.
  2. A loan from a Certified Development Company (a non-profit) for 40 percent of the price.

The remaining 10% is a deposit from the borrower. The rates of interest on the bank portion of the loan aren’t set by the SBA. However, the interest rates on these loans tend to be very low, now from the mid-single digits.   Since the bank loan is senior to the CDC loan and the loan is backed by real-estate, there is a very low risk that the bank won’t be able to return the money it loans. The low-risk is reflected at the flat-rate rates.

The maximum interest rate on the CDC portion of this loan is set by the SBA.

May 2018 Maximum Interest Rates CDC Loan (using treasury prices for May 1, 2018)

Use our Free SBA Loan Calculator To Find Out Exact Interest Rates

Term of Loan
Treasury Rate
Fixed Rate
Ongoing Fees
Maximum Interest Rate
10 Years
5 Year Treasury (Currently 2.80percent )
0.38%
1.7% (approximate)
4.88percent (2.80% 5 Year Treasury rate + 0.38% fixed rate + 1.7% ongoing fees)
20 Years
10 Year Treasury (Currently 2.97percent )
0.48%
1.7percent (approximate)
5.15% (2.97% 10 year treasury rate + 0.48% fixed rate + 1.7% continuing fees)
  1. A ten year CDC/504 loan is going to have an interest rate which combines the current 5 year treasury rate, a fixed rate of 0.38 percent, and 1.7percent in annual fees. As the table shows, the interest rates are based on the length of the loan:
  2. A twenty per cent CDC/504 loan will get an interest rate which unites the current 10 year treasury rate, a fixed rate of 0.48%, and 1.7percent in annual fees.

Unlike a 7A loan, the loan amounts for the CDC portions of an SBA 504 loan are fixed for the life span of the loan and won’t go up or down. The section of the loan offered by the bank, credit union, or non-bank lender does not have to be fixed (it might have a variable rate, a balloon payment, etc.).

If You’re Searching for a commercial real estate loan, have been in business 2+ years, and have a credit rating of 680, an SBA 7(a) loan with Northeast Bank may be a good fit.   Northeast Bank is a national SBA lender that provides rates as low as 5.5percent for loans up to $5MM.

Prequalify Now for an SBA 7(a) Loan with Northeast Bank

How Do SBA Rates Compare To Interest Rates On Regular Industrial Loans?

That is a trick question. In theory, if you’re able to get approved for traditional commercial bank funding, the banking institution isn’t supposed to submit your application for an SBA loan. However, generally speaking, banks are not interested in making loans of under $300,000 to small businesses. The portion of business loans that banks make which are around $1 million dollars has been shrinking for decades. The SBA guarantee against non-payment makes these loans risky and possibly more profitable for banks. Without an SBA guarantee, such loans would likely not be financed in any way.

If you are interested in applying for an SBA Loan we recommend checking out SmartBiz.   They are the best lender we have found at providing quick turnarounds on SBA loan approvals, and you’ll be able to find out how much you qualify to get in 5 minutes.

Click Here For Exact Rates & See if You Qualify

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