Data · Updated November 2026

Utah SBA 7(a) lending: who's most active

The 30 lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) loans of $500,000 or more to Utah businesses in fiscal 2025 and 2026, compiled from the SBA's own loan-level records.

See the rankings   The new SBA QoE rule
2,398

SBA 7(a) loans approved for Utah borrowers, FY2025–2026

87%

made by the 30 lenders ranked below

52%

of their $500K+ loans came from 11 Utah-headquartered lenders. Out-of-state lenders made the rest.

23 of 30

lenders do most of their volume as Preferred Lenders (PLP), where SBA's QoE timing rule turns on the loan number

Top 15 by loans of $500,000 or more

Larger loans are where the new SBA Quality of Earnings requirement starts to bite, so we rank lenders by how many loans of $500K or more they approved, not total count. Zions Bank, for example, made the most Utah SBA loans overall (490), but most were smaller.

Utah-headquartered lenderOut-of-state lender
Top 15 Utah SBA 7(a) lenders by number of loans of $500,000 or more, FY2025 to FY2026Mountain America leads with 55 loans of $500K or more, followed by America First (43), Central Bank (40), Zions Bank and Live Oak Bank (36 each). Full data in the table below.0102030405060Mountain America FCU55America First FCU43Central Bank40Zions Bank36Live Oak Bank36U.S. Bank32Huntington National Bank26Accordia Bank22Celtic Bank21Newtek Bank21Northwest Bank20Bank of Utah19First Utah Bank19Citizens Bank14Wells Fargo Bank13

Number of approved 7(a) loans of $500,000 or more. Hover a bar for totals.

All 30 lenders

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RankLenderHeadquartersLoans ≥ $500KAll Utah 7(a) loansTotal approvedAverage loanPrimary SBA method
1Mountain America FCU UtahSandy, UT55254$83.2M$328KSBA Express
2America First FCU UtahRiverdale, UT4369$73.0M$1.1MPreferred Lender (PLP)
3Central Bank UtahProvo, UT40141$56.2M$399KPreferred Lender (PLP)
4Zions Bank UtahSalt Lake City, UT36490$88.6M$181KPreferred Lender (PLP)
5Live Oak BankWilmington, NC3662$84.7M$1.4MPreferred Lender (PLP)
6U.S. BankCincinnati, OH32149$54.6M$367KSBA Express
7Huntington National BankColumbus, OH2688$44.8M$509KPreferred Lender (PLP)
8Accordia Bank UtahProvo, UT2256$34.1M$608KPreferred Lender (PLP)
9Newtek BankMiami, FL2199$41.8M$422KPreferred Lender (PLP)
10Celtic Bank UtahSalt Lake City, UT2178$42.7M$547KPreferred Lender (PLP)
11Northwest BankBoise, ID2031$32.4M$1.0MPreferred Lender (PLP)
12Bank of Utah UtahOgden, UT1944$49.9M$1.1MPreferred Lender (PLP)
13First Utah Bank UtahSalt Lake City, UT1944$39.9M$906KPreferred Lender (PLP)
14Citizens BankElizabethton, TN1422$19.6M$892KPreferred Lender (PLP)
15Wells Fargo BankSioux Falls, SD1333$11.8M$357KPreferred Lender (PLP)
16KeyBankCleveland, OH1238$25.8M$678KSBA Express
17UMB BankKansas City, MO1224$23.5M$980KPreferred Lender (PLP)
18Northeast BankLewiston, ME11103$20.9M$203KPreferred Lender (PLP)
19Community Banks of ColoradoGreenwood Village, CO1125$19.0M$761KPreferred Lender (PLP)
20Byline BankChicago, IL1115$20.7M$1.4MPreferred Lender (PLP)
21Cache Valley Bank UtahLogan, UT1055$19.8M$359KPreferred Lender (PLP)
22Redemption Bank UtahSalt Lake City, UT810$11.2M$1.1M7(a) General
23First Internet Bank of IndianaFishers, IN79$19.9M$2.2MPreferred Lender (PLP)
24Canyon View FCU UtahSalt Lake City, UT648$11.7M$244KSBA Express
25ReadyCap LendingBerkeley Heights, NJ629$11.7M$403KPreferred Lender (PLP)
26First Bank of the LakeOsage Beach, MO618$12.0M$664KPreferred Lender (PLP)
27Gulf Coast Bank & TrustNew Orleans, LA610$10.7M$1.1MPreferred Lender (PLP)
28Fortis BankDenver, CO68$14.5M$1.8M7(a) General
29JPMorgan Chase BankColumbus, OH527$9.1M$337KSBA Express
30Enterprise Bank & TrustClayton, MO56$5.4M$908KPreferred Lender (PLP)

What stands out

  • Local credit unions lead larger-loan volume. Mountain America and America First, both Utah credit unions, rank first and second by $500K+ loans.
  • National SBA specialists write the biggest loans. Live Oak, First Internet Bank, Fortis and Byline average well over $1 million per Utah loan, against about $181K at Zions, whose volume skews to smaller loans.
  • Nearly half the larger loans come from out of state. 19 out-of-state lenders made 260 of the 539 loans of $500K+ in this group.
  • Most volume runs through delegated authority. Under PLP, SOP 50 10 8.1 lets the QoE finish after the loan number issues, but it must be formally engaged, with an engagement letter in place, when the number issues.

How we built this

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA loan-level data (FY2020–present file, data as of September 30, 2026), available at data.sba.gov.

Scope: 7(a) loans approved October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2026 where the borrower or project is in Utah. Lender names are consolidated across reporting variations; headquarters are as reported.

Limits: The SBA file doesn't identify loan purpose, so loans of $500K or more are a proxy for acquisition-size lending, not a count of acquisitions. "Primary SBA method" is the delivery method behind the largest share of each lender's Utah loans. Rankings change as SBA updates the file.

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