Each year, the SBA guarantees billions of dollars in 504 loans. In fiscal year 2025, the agency approved 6,762 loans totaling $7.8 billion in SBA-guaranteed 504 debentures. But which lenders actually make these loans? Below are the top SBA 504 lenders and Certified Development Companies (CDCs) by approval volume, from the most recent full-year program data available.
The Top SBA 504 Lenders: FY2025
The 504 program has two lending sides. A third-party lender (usually a bank) provides roughly 50% of the project cost in first-lien position, and a CDC provides the SBA-guaranteed debenture, typically 40%. The borrower puts in 10% in most cases. The tables below rank both sides of the market by SBA-guaranteed 504 approval dollars.
Top 10 third-party lenders (banks), FY2025
| Rank | Bank | 504 approvals | 504 approved dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bank of America, N.A. | 251 | $276,825,000 |
| 2 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 79 | $249,785,000 |
| 3 | First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | 180 | $242,226,000 |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. | 202 | $217,384,000 |
| 5 | Harvest Commercial Capital, LLC | 175 | $185,623,000 |
| 6 | Bank Five Nine | 62 | $113,810,000 |
| 7 | Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | 72 | $97,584,000 |
| 8 | Live Oak Banking Company | 36 | $90,119,000 |
| 9 | City National Bank | 49 | $84,388,000 |
| 10 | Regions Bank | 49 | $68,068,000 |
Top 10 CDCs, FY2025
| Rank | Certified Development Company | 504 approvals | 504 approved dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mortgage Capital Development Corporation (Oakland, CA) | 548 | $836,421,000 |
| 2 | Florida Business Development Corporation (Tampa, FL) | 418 | $440,866,000 |
| 3 | Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (Tallahassee, FL) | 349 | $426,988,000 |
| 4 | Business Finance Capital (Los Angeles, CA) | 303 | $385,021,000 |
| 5 | California Statewide Certified Development Corporation (Davis, CA) | 308 | $377,183,000 |
| 6 | Mountain West Small Business Finance (Salt Lake City, UT) | 264 | $324,528,000 |
| 7 | Empire State Certified Development Corporation (Latham, NY) | 230 | $271,816,000 |
| 8 | Capital Certified Development Corporation (Austin, TX) | 150 | $229,509,000 |
| 9 | WBD, Inc. (Madison, WI) | 184 | $190,464,000 |
| 10 | Trenton Business Assistance Corporation (Princeton, NJ) | 94 | $167,094,000 |
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration via Eagle Compliance (fiscal agent for the 504 program), FY2025 final TPL and CDC activity files, retrieved Jul 22, 2026. Approval dollars are the SBA-guaranteed debenture portion.
How to Choose Between 504 Lenders
Note that ranking the best 504 lenders is actually a complicated situation because the conventional lender only supplies 50% of the funds for your loan. You supply 10% (usually), and the remaining 40% comes from a CDC in your local area. To find a CDC in your area, you will need to contact your local SBA office. You can find links to your local SBA office here.
A note on names: earlier versions of this page (2018) recommended SunTrust, which merged with BB&T to form Truist in December 2019 and no longer operates under the SunTrust brand. Truist remains an active SBA lender; it ranked 28th among 504 third-party lenders in FY2025 with $35.8 million in approvals.
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Related Questions
What are the qualifications for an SBA 504 loan?
To qualify for an SBA 504 loan, the business must be a for-profit small business with a net worth below $20 million. The business must also create or maintain jobs, occupy the property acquired with the loan, have good credit and a good financial history. Additionally, the business cannot be a non-profit, real estate investor, or religious institution. For more information, please see SBA 504 Loan Requirements for Borrowers, Projects, Lenders, and More and SBA 504 Loans and Commercial Real Estate: What You Need to Know.
What are the benefits of an SBA 504 loan?
The SBA 504 loan program offers several benefits to businesses, including long-term, fixed-rate financing, lower interest rates and down payment requirements than SBA 7(a) loans and Express loans, and the ability to purchase fixed assets such as real estate and equipment. The loan is also backed by the SBA, reducing risk for lenders who put up half the cost of the project. In the case of default, the private lender has first lien on project assets. Terms for SBA 504 financing are typically 10, 15, or 20 years, and the loan is fully amortized without a balloon payment.
For more information, please visit the following sources:
What are the eligibility requirements for an SBA 504 loan?
In order to take out an SBA 504 loan, your business must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Your business must be a for-profit organization.
- Your business must meet current SBA size standards.
- Your business must have a tangible net worth under $20 million.
- Your business cannot earn 1/3 or more of its income from packaging SBA loans.
- Your business must have an average net income under $6.5 million after federal income taxes for the two years preceding your application.
- Your business cannot be engaged in any sort of passive or speculative activities.
Note that additional requirements may be placed by CDCs or conventional lenders. You can find a full list of eligibility requirements and other important information with the SBA here.
What is the maximum loan amount for an SBA 504 loan?
The SBA 504 maximum loan amount is currently set at $5 million in lifetime dollars. However, if your business is a small manufacturer, you can borrow up to $5.5 million in lifetime dollars. It should also be noted that if you decide to embark on energy-related projects that fall under the "go green" heading, you can borrow substantially more. Energy projects qualify for a $5.5 million debenture per project, and small manufacturers can hold an unlimited number of 504 loans tied to distinct projects (SBA, May 2026).
Source: https://sba504.loans/sba-504-blog/what-is-the-sba-504-maximum-loan-amount
What are the interest rates for an SBA 504 loan?
The SBA-guaranteed portion carries a fixed rate for the full term, set at the monthly SBA debenture sale at a spread above the 10-year U.S. Treasury (a shorter-term Treasury benchmark applies to 10-year debentures). At the July 2026 sale, debenture rates were 5.04% (25-year), 5.01% (20-year), and 4.69% (10-year); the all-in effective rate adds roughly one percentage point of ongoing program fees. (Source: Eagle Compliance, fiscal agent for the SBA 504 program, July 2026.) One-time fees are financed into the loan: an upfront SBA guaranty fee of 0.5% of the net debenture and a lender participation fee of 0.5% of the bank's first-lien amount (both waived for manufacturers in FY2026), plus third-party closing costs. (Source: Eagle Compliance FY2026 fee chart.) For more information, please visit https://sba504.loans/rates-and-costs/.
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