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In the world of SBA lending, time is rarely on your side when a loan begins to go sideways. What starts as a borrower missing a payment can rapidly snowball into a full-blown default, asset deterioration, or legal complications — and before you know it, you’re staring down an SBA loan liquidation process with escalating losses.

I’m just back from this year’s America East conference, and one of the things I heard from several attendees was – acquisitions are still happening, and the people inheriting the acquired bank’s SBA portfolio are concerned.

As an SBA lender, the SBA guaranty offers essential protection supporting your institution’s willingness to extend credit to small businesses. But that protection comes with responsibilities, not the least of which is the duty to act in a timely manner throughout the life of the loan – and especially when the loan is in distress.

SBA debt refinancing can get complicated – and staying aligned with SBA guidelines for Lenders is essential. The latest SBA guidance in SOP 50 10 8 provides clarification on multiple issues. They’ve updated how debt refinancing is handled, and they’ve also reinforced the importance of the long-standing message that SBA loans aren’t intended to transfer risk or cover Lender losses.

We all know the rules around ownership changes can get a little tricky, especially when navigating SBA guidelines for lenders. But here’s the good news: the SBA made some helpful updates in SOP 50 10 8. Whether you're financing a full buyout or just shifting ownership between partners, these changes are worth knowing. Let’s break down what’s new.

Too often, loan changes occur—whether minor borrower updates or significant structural modifications—without being fully reflected in E-Tran. That oversight can result in servicing issues, audit flags, or worse: denial of the SBA guarantee. Here’s why every lender should treat E-Tran updates as an important part of their SBA loan servicing workflow.

Loan Applicants have always had to obtain appropriate insurance, and Lenders have always had to ensure it’s included in the Terms & Conditions and the Credit Memo. No new news there. But there are some new updates that Lenders should be aware of to make sure they remain in SBA compliance.

Applicant certification requirements under the recently-released SOP 50 10 8 are a mix of new, changed, and familiar. Many of the Applicant certifications can be found in the current Form 1919 from February 2025. However, we’ve heard that an updated Form 1919 is on the way, though its release date – and its changes – haven’t yet been announced.

Back in December, we believed FTA’s SBA training looked reasonably well done and complete. While there have been many opportunities for training sessions, there’s still confusion surrounding error codes and exactly how to fix them. We can offer Lender consulting services to support your team while they work their way through these issues.

Pain points. Bottlenecks. Inefficiencies. Every SBA Portfolio Manager deals with them. And your SBA portfolio can stagnate if you don’t...