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Basic 7(a) Loan Guaranty
The U.S. Small Business Administration's Basic 7(a) Loan Guaranty serves as the SBA’s primary business loan program to help qualified start-up and existing small businesses obtain financing when they might not be eligible for business loans through normal lending channels. It is also the agency’s most flexible business loan program, since financing under this program can be guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes.
Loan proceeds can be used for most sound business purposes including working capital, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, land and building (including purchase, renovation and new construction), leasehold improvements, and debt refinancing (under special conditions). Loan maturity is up to 10 years for working capital and generally up to 25 years for fixed assets.
SBA offers multiple variations of the basic 7(a) loan program to accommodate targeted needs.
Contents
7(a) Loan Program Eligibility
The requirements of eligibility for the 7(a) loan program are based on specific aspects of the business and its principals. As such, the key factors of eligibility are based on what the business does to receive its income, the character of its ownership and where the business operates.
SBA generally does not specify what businesses are eligible. Rather, the agency outlines what businesses are not eligible. However, there are some universally applicable requirements. To be eligible for assistance, businesses must:
- Operate for profit
- Be small, as defined by SBA
- Be engaged in, or propose to do business in, the United States or its possessions
- Have reasonable invested equity
- Use alternative financial resources, including personal assets, before seeking financial assistance
- Be able to demonstrate a need for the loan proceeds
- Use the funds for a sound business purpose
- Not be delinquent on any existing debt obligations to the U.S. government
Ineligible Businesses
A business must be engaged in an activity SBA determines as acceptable for financial assistance from a federal provider. The following list of businesses types are not eligible for assistance because of the activities they conduct:
- Financial businesses primarily engaged in the business of lending, such as banks, finance companies, payday lenders, some leasing companies and factors (pawn shops, although engaged in lending, may qualify in some circumstances)
- Businesses owned by developers and landlords that do not actively use or occupy the assets acquired or improved with the loan proceeds (except when the property is leased to the business at zero profit for the property’s owners)
- Life insurance companies
- Businesses located in a foreign country (businesses in the U.S. owned by aliens may qualify)
- Businesses engaged in pyramid sale distribution plans, where a participant's primary incentive is based on the sales made by an ever-increasing number of participants
- Businesses deriving more than one-third of gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities
- Businesses engaged in any illegal activity
- Private clubs and businesses that limit the number of memberships for reasons other than capacity
- Government-owned entities
- Businesses principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting
- Consumer and marketing cooperatives (producer cooperatives are eligible)
- Loan packagers earning more than one third of their gross annual revenue from packaging SBA loans
- Businesses in which the lender or CDC, or any of its associates owns an equity interest
- Businesses that present live performances of an indecent sexual nature or derive directly or indirectly more 2.5 percent of gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of an indecent sexual nature
- Businesses primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities
- Speculative businesses (such as oil exploration)
There are also eligibility factors for financial assistance based on the activities of the owners and the historical operation of the business. As such, the business cannot have been:
- A business that caused the government to have incurred a loss related to a prior business debt
- A business owned 20 percent or more by a person associated with a different business that caused the government to have incurred a loss related to a prior business debt
- A business owned 20 percent or more by a person who is incarcerated, on probation, on parole, or has been indicted for a felony or a crime of moral depravity
Special Considerations
Special considerations apply to some types of businesses and individuals, which include:
- Franchises are eligible except when a franchiser retains power to control operations to such an extent as to equate to an employment contract; the franchisee must have the right to profit from efforts commensurate with ownership
- Recreational facilities and clubs are eligible if the facilities are open to the general public, or in membership-only situations, membership is not selectively denied or restricted to any particular groups
- Farms and agricultural businesses are eligible, but these applicants should first explore Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs, particularly if the applicant has a prior or existing relationship with FSA
- Fishing vessels are eligible, but those seeking funds for the construction or reconditioning of vessels with a cargo capacity of five tons or more must first request financing from the National Marine Fisheries Service
- Privately owned medical facilities including hospitals, clinics, emergency outpatient facilities, and medical and dental laboratories are eligible; recovery and nursing homes are also eligible, provided they are licensed by the appropriate government agency and they provide more than room and board
- An Eligible Passive Company (EPC) must use loan proceeds to acquire or lease, and/or improve or renovate, real or personal property that it leases to one or more operating companies and must not make any profit from conducting its activities
- Legal aliens are eligible; however, consideration is given to status (e.g., resident, lawful temporary resident) in determining the business’ degree of risk
- Probation or parole: Applications will not be accepted from firms in which a principal is currently incarcerated, on parole, on probation or is a defendant in a criminal proceeding
Use of 7(a) Loan Proceeds
If you are awarded a 7(a) loan, you can use the loan proceeds to help finance a large variety of business purposes. However, there are a few restrictions. For example, proceeds can’t be used to buy an asset to hold for its potential increased value or to reimburse an owner for the money they previously put into their business.
Basic uses for 7(a) loan proceeds
- To provide long-term working capital to use to pay operational expenses, accounts payable and/or to purchase inventory
- Short-term working capital needs, including seasonal financing, contract performance, construction financing and exporting
- Revolving funds based on the value of existing inventory and receivables, under special conditions
- To purchase equipment, machinery, furniture, fixtures, supplies or materials
- To purchase real estate, including land and buildings
- To construct a new building or renovate an existing building
- To establish a new business or assist in the acquisition, operation or expansion of an existing business
- To refinance existing business debt, under certain conditions
SBA loans cannot be used for these purposes
- To refinance existing debt where the lender is in a position to sustain a loss and SBA would take over that loss through refinancing
- To affect a partial change of business ownership or a change that will not benefit the business
- To permit the reimbursement of funds owed to any owner, including any equity injection or injection of capital to continue the business until the SBA-backed loan is disbursed
- To repay delinquent state or federal withholding taxes or other funds that should be held in trust or escrow
- For a purpose that is not considered to be a sound business purpose as determined by SBA
- If you are unsure whether or not your anticipated use of funds is allowed, check with your SBA-approved lender
7(a) Loan Amounts, Fees & Interest Rates
The specific terms of SBA loans are negotiated between a borrower and an SBA-approved lender. In general, the following provisions apply to all SBA 7(a) loans.
Loan Amounts
7(a) loans have a maximum loan amount of $5 million. SBA does not set a minimum loan amount. The average 7(a) loan amount in fiscal year 2015 was $371,628.
Fees
Loans guaranteed by the SBA are assessed a guarantee fee. This fee is based on the loan’s maturity and the dollar amount guaranteed, not the total loan amount. The lender initially pays the guaranty fee and they have the option to pass that expense on to the borrower at closing. The funds to reimburse the lender can be included in the overall loan proceeds.
On loans under $150,000 made after October 1, 2013, the fees will be set at zero percent. On any loan greater than $150,000 with a maturity of one year or shorter, the fee is 0.25 percent of the guaranteed portion of the loan. On loans with maturities of more than one year, the normal fee is 3 percent of the SBA-guaranteed portion on loans of $150,000 to $700,000, and 3.5 percent on loans of more than $700,000. There is also an additional fee of 0.25 percent on any guaranteed portion of more than $1 million.
Interest Rates
The actual interest rate for a 7(a) loan guaranteed by the SBA is negotiated between the applicant and lender and subject to the SBA maximums. Both fixed and variable interest rate structures are available. The maximum rate is composed of two parts, a base rate and an allowable spread. There are three acceptable base rates (A prime rate published in a daily national newspaper*, London Interbank One Month Prime plus 3 percent and an SBA Peg Rate).
Lenders are allowed to add an additional spread to the base rate to arrive at the final rate. For loans with maturities of shorter than seven years, the maximum spread will be no more than 2.25 percent. For loans with maturities of seven years or more, the maximum spread will be 2.75 percent. The spread on loans of less than $50,000 and loans processed through Express procedures have higher maximums.
All references to the prime rate refer to the base rate in effect on the first business day of the month the loan application is received by the SBA.
Percentage of Guarantee
SBA can guarantee as much as 85 percent on loans of up to $150,000 and 75 percent on loans of more than $150,000. SBA’s maximum exposure amount is $3,750,000. Thus, if a business receives an SBA-guaranteed loan for $5 million, the maximum guarantee to the lender will be $3,750,000 or 75%. SBA Express loans have a maximum guarantee set at 50 percent.
